Wilhelm's Manuscript
by A Guy Named Goo
Summary: The Get Backers must team up with enemies and allies alike to retrieve the lost manuscript of Wilhelm Grimm from two men calling themselves Jakob and Wilhelm. Some JubeiKadsuki shounenai implications, mild shoujoai content. LAST CHAPTER NOW UP!
1. Get Back Wilhelm's Manuscript!

Disclaimer- Get Backers isn't mine. The assorted OCs and the plot is, though. On the off chance anyone wants to use them, they can ask me.

Quick Note- I spell-checked this time, but I haven't been able to drag my beta-reader online to read this for me so please ignore any and all embarrassing grammatical errors and just enjoy the story, all right?

**Wilhelm's Manuscript**

**Chapter One: Get Back Wilhelm's Manuscript!**

**By A Girl Named Goo**

Natsumi looked out the shaded window that separated Honky Tonk from the outside world as she wiped a glass. "Master, should we leave them out there? I think they're melting."

Paul looked up from the newspaper's weather forecast and out the window, where Natsumi was staring. "The air conditioner is for paying customers only. Maybe they'll find a job while they're sitting out there passing out fliers."

"But Master, they're not handing out fliers anymore. I think they're dead."

Paul finally put down the newspaper and walked around the counter over to the window. Outside, Ginji was sprawled face-down on the sidewalk, seemingly melting into a puddle of goo. Ban was sitting on the curb, meekly holding up a flier before finally collapsing spread-eagle between the sidewalk and the road, fliers spilling around him. A sweaty man in a business suit looked down at them and dropped a few coins on Ban's chest.

"They have money now! Can't we let them inside for a few minutes?" Natsumi asked. Paul sighed and walked back behind the bar.

"For a few minutes. That's all they can afford."

Natsumi quickly ran over to the door, feeling a blast of hot air like a furnace as she did so. "Master says you two can come in for a few minutes!" she announced, holding the door as Ban crawled into the restaurant on his belly with the change in his hand and Ginji sort of oozed in behind him. As soon as Natsumi closed the door they stood up, breathing in the cold air.

"Thank you so much, Natsumi-chan!" Ginji cried, rushing over to hug her. Ban grabbed him before he could embrace her.

"We're only in here for a few minutes," Ban told him firmly. "Don't get so excited."

Paul picked up his paper again. "Right. And you have to pay."

"What?! Just to use the air conditioner?!"

"You still owe me money. The air conditioner is for paying customers only. So pay."

Ban looked at the coins in his hand before walking over to the counter, dropping them and muttering to himself. Paul looked at the coins on the counter. Less than ¥100, but better than nothing. Ban sat himself on a stool, breathing in the cool air. His hair had started to go limp, the gel that held it in place melting in incredible heat. Ginji, now completely solidified, sat in the stool next to him and leaned over the bar.

"Ne, Ban-chan, it's too hot," Ginji whined.

Ban lit a cigarette. "What do you want me to do about it? We haven't had a job in weeks, we can't get the Bug's AC fixed until we do-"

"And you can't stay in here unless you pay your tab," Paul reminded them, glancing at a clock. "Two more minutes."

"Damn, this heat's making you cranky," Ban observed, taking a drag off his cigarette. Ginji was looking between the clock and the front door, not bothering to comment on how Ban had also been more irritable than usual since this heat wave began and the air conditioner in the car had decided to give up on them.

Natsumi also looked at the clock, then at the door. "Master, if I buy them something to drink can they stay just a little longer?"

Paul looked at the petite part-time employee from behind his sunglasses. "Didn't I tell you to stop doing them favors?"

Natsumi nodded. "Yes, Master, but it's so hot out there. If they went outside and melted it would be so sad, not to mention very messy."

The owner of Honky Tonk looked at the Get Backers, who now looked like a pair of puppies waiting for a treat after performing a trick. He sighed and looked over at Natsumi again. "They can stay until they finish their drinks. And I'll be making sure they don't just sit there with full glasses or take little sips."

Natsumi smiled and made a mock salute. "Yes, Master!" she told him, scrambling behind the bar and pouring them both glasses of iced tea, adding slices of lemon and placing them in front of the currently unemployed young men.

"Thank you, Natsumi-chan!" Ginji cried gleefully, quickly finishing the drink. Ban wanted to tell him to go slower so they could stay longer, but Paul was watching them and he didn't want to test him while he was in a bad mood. He could always be a little slow about it, he decided, as he squeezed the lemon into the cold beverage. He noticed Ginji was trying (rather unsuccessfully) to eat his own lemon slice.

Paul opened his news paper again. "This weather's going to last all week, according to this. No word on after this week."

Ban sighed and took a sip of the iced tea. "Ne, Natsumi-chan, did you make this?"

Natsumi nodded. "Yes. Just this morning. Why? Is there something wrong with it?"

Ban looked at the glass and took a bigger swallow. "No. It's good." He looked over the glass as he was about to take another sip at Natsumi's grinning face. "What? What's in it?"

"No one can resist my iced tea!" she suddenly exclaimed proudly. Ban looked over and noticed Ginji tipping the glass up, trying to get the last drops and nearly choking on the ice cubes. He was surprising to find he was taking deep swallows himself. He stopped with only a little bit left in the glass.

"Seriously, what's in it?" he demanded, itching to finish off the glass. This was definitely not normal behavior for him, but he had to restrain himself, lest they get thrown out.

Natsumi held up a bag of blue powder. "Master gave it to me. He said it makes anything taste so good people always want more, and will pay any price for it."

"Drugs?!" Ban cried, choking and looking at the little plastic bag.

Paul sighed and put down his paper again. "More like an old family secret. It's perfectly legal and works like a charm. And if you want more of that you have to pay for it. I am not letting her buy you two any more."

Ban looked at the last drops in his glass, using all of his restraint to keep from finishing it. They couldn't go outside so soon.

"Ne, Ban-chan, can I have the rest?" Ginji asked.

"No!" Ban barked. Then he cleared his throat. "I mean no, I'm going to finish it."

Paul got a wicked grin on his face. "Oh really?"

Ban looked between the glass and the owner of this place. It was taking everything he had to keep from swallowing it all in one gulp. Just a little longer....

The door to Honky Tonk banged open, and everyone looked over to see what was going on. Hevn was leaning in the doorway, wearing even less than she usually did (a feat in and of itself) with an almost non-existent pink bikini top that left nothing to the imagination and a very short, very tightly fitting pair of shorts. She leaned against the wall, the door shutting behind her.

"Hevn-san!" Ginji cried out, running to her. She held up a hand to motion for him to stop and continued to pant.

"Where....were....you....two?!" she finally managed angrily.

Ban looked at her nervously, standing up from his stool and completely forgetting his craving. He began to back as far away from her as possible. Unfortunately, she seemed to have gained her second wind and was starting to approach him.

"I've been looking everywhere for you two since this morning!" she shouted. "I've looked up and down most of Shinjuku, _on foot_, in this God forsaken heat for you!"

"We were just handing out some fliers this morning," Ban said quickly. That was a half truth. Before passing out in front of Honky Tonk after an unsuccessful plea to be let inside, they had been just outside of the main portion of the city (the trip that had killed the Bug's air conditioning) swimming in a pool that belonged to a couple that were spending the day in the city. Or so they thought, before they almost got arrested....

"You're damn lucky that I found you when I did. I have a job for you two, and you're client will be here any minute!" Hevn continued. She looked at Ban's glass of iced tea, reached over and finished it off. Ban made an interesting choking sound as she put the glass down onto the counter. "I am going to take five percent this time to cover this little incident! You're lucky I don't sue!" Ban was looking at her like she had just run over his puppy. She noticed and shook the glass, making the ice in it rattle. "No arguments this time, or I'll take the client and go elsewhere. You're lucky I didn't give up and give the job to someone else." She looked at the glass again. "And this iced tea is really good. Do you have any more?"

"No!" Ban and Ginji shouted at the same time, causing Hevn to look at them strangely.

"Natsumi, give her some," Paul said. "From the other pitcher."

"All right!" Natsumi said cheerfully, refilling Ban's glass. Hevn started drinking it immediately.

"Why isn't she hooked?" Ban asked, glaring at Paul.

Paul shrugged. "She only had one sip. That craving only lasts a few minutes. You two each had a whole glass. If you ignore your craving it'll last about an hour. It'll be longer if you have another glass. I was hoping you two would actually break down and pay for more."

Ban muttered something unsavory under his breath and lit a cigarette. He turned to Hevn. "So when will this client be here?"

Hevn looked at the clock on the wall. "I set the appointment for three, so any minute now."

The door opened again, and everyone looked over to see who it was. They heard a familiar jingling noise first, but in the haze of the heat outside they couldn't focus until the door was closed. Standing in the restaurant was Kadsuki and Jubei.

"Are we late?" Kadsuki asked. He looked amazingly unruffled in the intense heat of the afternoon sun. Jubei looked relatively unphased as well, for he was wearing the jacket he usually wore.

"No, you're on time," Hevn told them. "The client isn't here yet."

Ban looked between the pair that had just entered and Hevn. "You said you didn't give the job to anyone else!"

Hevn sighed and took another drink of her iced tea. "I said I didn't find someone else to replace you in this job. That doesn't mean I didn't hire some back-up for you two. It's a big job."

"That's what you say about _all_ our jobs," Ban muttered, taking another drag off of his cigarette.

"It's too hot to argue with you," Hevn said at last. "If you don't want this job, then I'll go find someone else."

Ban kept his mouth shut. Ginji ran over to Kadsuki and Jubei happily.

"Jubei-kun!" he cried out. "When did you get back? I thought you were gone!"

Jubei shrugged. "A few days ago."

Ban finished his cigarette and smashed it out on the counter. "Don't tell me you're a retrieval specialist now, too."

Jubei shook his head. "Kadsuki was hired for this job. I'm just coming with him. I can't protect him very well if I'm sitting at home alone while he works." 

"Whatever," Ban muttered, sitting on a stool again and leaning over the counter. Ginji was now in his tare form, tugging on Kadsuki's pant leg and saying "Kadsu-chan!" over and over. Hevn just sighed and muttered something about a career change. Natsumi looked around the room, sweat-dropped, and picked up Ginji's empty glass.

Everything in the room suddenly went quiet as the door opened again. Once again the sun and heat outside made it difficult to figure out who it was standing in the doorway. The door closed, and standing in front of it was a young man wearing a blue suit, dark sunglasses, and holding a briefcase. His hair was brown and cut into a stylish hair cut, and as he walked further into the restaurant and toward Hevn he seemed to exude poise and aristocracy.

Hevn stood up as he approached. "Mr. Hamrich! We were expecting you!" She turned to everyone else in the room now. "This is our client."

Hamrich extended his hand to Ban. "Karl Hamrich," he said simply. He had a thick European accent that Ban had to guess was German from his name.

Ban hesitantly shook the man's hand. "Midou Ban. If you'll come this way, we can talk business."

As Ban lead the man over to a booth Ginji appeared next to him. "He smells funny," he whispered in Ban's ear.

"Shut up. He's our client," Ban snapped. But now that he thought about it, the man did seem to have a peculiar odor. It wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't normal. He shrugged it off, deciding he was probably wearing some weird European cologne. He sat down on one side of the booth, Ginji sliding in next to him, as Hamrich took a seat across from them, Hevn sitting next to him. Kadsuki and Jubei stood in front of the table.

"This is my partner, Amano Ginji," Ban clarified. "Over there is our colleague Fuchoin Kadsuki and his partner Kakei Jubei." He put a strange emphasis on the word "partner" that made Kadsuki glare at him. "And I think you know Hevn-san."

"Yes, I have," he said simply. He reached up to his sunglasses and snapped the front of them off, revealing a pair of normal wire-framed glasses. His eyes were intense and deep, forest green. "If you forgive me for getting right down to business, we really do not have much time."

Ban nodded for the man to continue, noticing how nervous he seemed as he opened the briefcase. Everything about this man was odd. His dress, his odor, his glasses, and even the way he spoke, with a tone of voice that was soft, as if he was unsure of himself, but with words that were precise and no-nonsense.

"Are you familiar with the Brothers Grimm?" he finally asked, pulling out some papers and setting them onto the table as he closed the briefcase.

Ban looked at him oddly. That was a peculiar question. But without even thinking, Ginji supplied an answer.

"They made up all of those fairy tales, right? Like Cinderella and Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood and the Little Mermaid," Ginji listed.

Ban sighed and looked at the papers. "Actually, Hans Christian Anderson wrote the Little Mermaid," he pointed out. Hamrich took the papers into his hand and nodded in agreement.

"They did not make up the fairy tales," Hamrich further corrected. "They wrote two books that complied them, only one of which was published in their lifetime. The other was called _Kinder- und Hausmärchen,_ or _Children's and Household Tales_. The first was printed long after their deaths. But it is the second book that I am here today to talk about."

Everyone was watching Hamrich now as he shuffled his papers. For the time Ban noticed everything on them was written in German. "The Brothers Grimm wrote many books in their lifetimes. Sometimes together, sometimes apart. Most of their pieces they wrote together were not published in their lifetime, and were almost all about folktales and fairytales. Separately they wrote many analyses and essays about linguistics and folktales. _Kinder- und Hausmärchen _was the last book they wrote together, written after they tried unsuccessfully to sell their first manuscript. This lead to many arguments. The eldest brother, Jakob, thought the stories were too graphic and that was why they couldn't sell their manuscript. He thought _Kinder- und Hausmärchen _should be toned down to appeal to children. Wilhelm, on the other hand, thought that the stories needed to be told the same way they had been told to him as a child."

Hamrich held up a piece of paper covered in German script. "The legend has it that the brothers got into a dispute. Because Wilhelm was doing most of the actual writing, he made them graphic. However, it was Jakob who was supposed to see them published." He handed the paper to Ban, who pretended he could read it. "Jakob altered the manuscript and it sold. Wilhelm was furious when he saw what his brother had done and they never spoke again. They both wrote their own books, and Wilhelm wrote a collection of stories as they had been told to him, but it never sold. Today scholars know about these graphic alternate versions of the stories from the first unpublished manuscripts and essays by both brothers, but Wilhelm's manuscript was never found."

Hamrich took the paper back. "That is, until recently. There was some reconstruction being made at the house the Grimm Brothers shared before their disagreement when Wilhelm Grimm's manuscript was found in the floorboard of what had once been his room. He apparently intended to hide the manuscript after it wouldn't sell so that his brother would never know he was right. According to this, the manuscript has been on a world tour before it will be put on display at the Grimm House, which is now a museum. But while on a ship from California in the United States to Yokohama, Japan, word of foul play got out. People kept on their guard, but there was nothing they could do. The ship was destroyed ten kilometers away from Yokohama, and the manuscript, which had been placed in an air-tight steel safe for safe keeping, sunk to the bottom of the ocean."

"But who would do that?" Kadsuki asked, taking the paper and attempting to read it. He had briefly studied German when he was younger, but was far from fluent in it.

Hamrich shook his head. "Jakob."

Kadsuki put down the paper to stare at the man. Everyone else was also looking in his direction. Even Jubei had turned to face his general direction.

"Jakob? As in Jakob Grimm?" Jubei finally asked, breaking the silence.

Hamrich nodded again. "A man calling himself Jakob Grimm wanted to destroy the manuscript. He claims the original Jakob Grimm never wanted it to be seen. Also trying to retrieve the manuscript is a man who calls himself Wilhelm. He wants to add it to his personal collection until it can be published because he doesn't think the original Wilhelm Grimm would want it on display without it being read." He readjusted his glasses. "I will pay you anything to get that manuscript before they do. The museum...the German Historical Society....they trusted me with it and I failed them. Fortunately I was able to cover up the accident. No one died. But if I do not get it back I will be a disgrace to my entire county."

There was a long, tense moment as no one said anything. Finally Ban spoke up. "Let me get this straight: you want us to go all the way down to Yokohama and search the bottom of the ocean for a steel safe?"

Hamrich sighed. "I know it is a big request, but I cannot risk hiring a salvage crew and I heard you have a reputation for being discreet. And it will be very dangerous. Your ad said that you would take any job and you had a nearly 100% success rate. I will pay for all of your expenses while you stay in Yokohama. Please."

Ban looked at Kadsuki, who nodded once and placed the paper on the table. He then looked over at Hevn. She also nodded. "I already found you a place to stay down there. All I have to do is call and confirm."

Ban gave one last look to Ginji, who shrugged, before sighing and turning toward Hamrich again. "We'll do it," he finally said. "We'll negotiate the fee later."

"Thank you! Danke!" the man said, shaking Ban's hand quickly. "I will call your negotiator periodically to check on your progress. Danke soviel! Thank you so much!"

And with that, Hamrich left.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You should have told me your air conditioner was broken," Hevn complained, opening the pink drawstring bag she had with her and removing a pink battery-operated fan.

"You should have told me you planned on taking the Bug all the way to Yokohama," Ban shot back angrily. It was bad enough they would have to drive a whole day to get to Yokohama from Shinjuku, but with five people and no air conditioning in a VW bug in the middle of a heat wave even he was starting to feel claustrophobic.

"Do the windows open any more?" Kadsuki asked. He was wedged rather uncomfortably between Hevn and Jubei in the back seat, conspicuously keeping himself pressed closer to the latter than the former.

"No, they don't. They broke during our last job. We've been meaning to get them fixed..." Ban mused, making a mental checklist of all of the repair work the Bug needed. It was true that in the end it would probably be cheaper to just buy another car, but he loved this one too much to let it go without a fight. Even if they would need to use a sizable chunk of their payment for this job to cover the repairs.

Ginji struggled with the handle to the window on his side for a moment, attempting to force the window down. When it snapped off, he laughed nervously and put it in the glove compartment. Ban glared at him, but didn't say anything. It was too hot, and that wasn't the first time that handle had broken off...

"Did you get gas?" Jubei asked him, if for no reason than to be included in the conversation.

Ban gritted his teeth. "Of course I got gas! What kind of idiot do you take me for?!"

Hevn had given up holding her fan and wedged it at an angle in her cleavage so that it would be aimed at her face. "I think that's a good question, seeing as you _insisted_ you only take back roads that you aren't familiar with."

Ban growled lowly. "What is this?! 'Everyone Gang Up On Ban' day?! I am taking back roads because less traffic and no cops means we can drive faster!"

"Ban-chan, watch the road!" Ginji cried out quickly. Ban looked in front of him and quickly turned back onto the road moments before they could hit a storm fence. Everyone in the back seat sighed in relief.

"I'm sorry, Ban-san, but the heat is making us all irritable and it's too cramped back here," Kadsuki offered as a meek apology, hoping that would keep Ban's attention on the road.

Ban sighed deeply. "Do you think I want to be driving right now? If any of you think you can do better, then let's switch." Ginji, Hevn, Kadsuki, and even Jubei raised their hands to that offer, regardless of driving ability (or physical handicap). "No one? All right. Then keep your mouths shut for the rest of this trip."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You said you got gas," Hevn reminded Ban. "You told us that an hour ago. Don't you remember that?"

Ban was outside the Bug, listening to Hevn tell him off through the barely open window. He walked around back and opened the panel concealing the car's inner workings. "_It was full,"_ he told her through gritted teeth. "The gas gauge said it was! We must have a leak in the gas main..."

"You must have a leak in your head," Hevn muttered. She was hot, sweaty, and her fan had died long ago. She picked up her cell phone and prepared to call for help before she noticed it said they were out of their service area.

"The gas gauge says it's still full," Kadsuki observed. He was trying to keep his tone neutral and maintain his poise, but truth be told he'd never held up very well in heat.

"Shit!" Ban cried, slamming the back of the Bug shut. "It must be broken!"

"Brilliant deduction," Hevn muttered. Ginji put the final touches on his sign and using medical tape from the first aid kit in the glove compartment put it up on the window.

Ban noticed this and walked around to the passenger side of the car. In huge writing it read "STRANDED. GET HELP."

"Ginji, we are _not_ stranded!" Ban told him firmly. "We just need some gas!"

"I think that counts as stranded," Kadsuki told Ban.

"Do you think you can get us out of this?!" Ban shot back at him.

"Maybe I can," Kadsuki said evenly. He stood as far as he could in the tiny vehicle, reached around the driver's seat, and opened the door. "Come on, Jubei. Let's go find a gas station." Jubei nodded and climbed out of the car first, followed by Kadsuki.

"You two can't be serious," Ban told him.

"It's better than sitting in the car and waiting for you to do something," Kadsuki pointed out. "Do you have a spare gas tank?"

"No," Ban told them. He actually wasn't sure if he did, and Murphy's Law dictated that if he were to look for one after they left he would find one, but he didn't feel like opening the trunk.

"Kadsu-chan, will you be all right?" Ginji asked as Kadsuki started to walk away, Jubei following close behind.

Kadsuki smiled at Ginji wearily. "Of course we will. We can take care of ourselves."

Ban laid himself on the front of the Bug as they all watched the pair disappear into the horizon.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kadsuki stuck his thumb out as another car approached....and passed. He sighed, and lowered his hand to his side and continued to trudge forward, Jubei close behind him. "What ever happened to common decency?" Kadsuki wondered out loud. "No one will stop to help us."

"Some people have stopped."

"They don't count."

The people Jubei was referring to had been the three cars that contained young men who tried to flirt with Kadsuki while under the impression that he was a girl. Usually good natured about that mistake, he was too hot this time and not in the mood to be civil.

"How long have we been walking?" Jubei asked. He paused for a moment to remove his jacket, and Kadsuki waited for him to do so.

"I don't know. A couple hours, by my guess."

Jubei also removed his goggles. "And still no gas station?"

"Not yet."

"Do you want to rest? You never were any good in this kind of heat."

"No. I think I can make it a little further."

Kadsuki could hear another car approaching and put out his thumb. A rusty red car came up over the dusty road and slowed to a stop in front of the pair. When Kadsuki noticed there were two young men in the front seat, he almost groaned.

"What's a cute girl like you doing walking in the hot sun?" the one driving asked, flashing a set of cigarette-yellowed teeth as he grinned.

"I'm a guy," Kadsuki told him, annoyance creeping into his voice.

"Oh, well, um...sorry to bother you, then," the driver said quickly. He went to drive away when Kadsuki reached through to open window and grabbed his arm, squeezing a little harder than he had to.

"You're going our way. We've been hitchhiking for hours. Give us a ride and we won't have to hurt you," he said through gritted teeth. He knew what he was doing probably constituted as car jacking, but at the moment he didn't care.

The man looked over at his companion, who was giving them doubtful looks. Kadsuki took his bell off his hair tie and aimed it at a fence post. A string streamed out and lashed the fence post, causing wood to splinter in it's wake. Kadsuki withdrew the string and replaced the bell.

The men looked at each other for a few moments. Kadsuki still had one of his hands on the man's arm. Jubei leaned over to him so that he could whisper in his ear.

"Is this really necessary?" he asked.

Kadsuki sighed. "We've been trying to get a ride for hours. I'm through with playing nice."

"Get in," the driver finally said. "Just...don't try anything funny, okay?"

Kadsuki urged Jubei over to the door that opened to the back seat and made him open it and climb in before releasing the driver. He didn't want to risk the driver driving away before they could get in the car. Jubei made his way over to the other seat so that Kadsuki could climb in behind him, and after the door closed they were off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ban-chan, why won't anyone stop?" Ginji whined from his place in the front passenger seat. Ban was still laying across the front of the Bug, face-down to keep from getting sunburned, his arms and head resting on the windshield. His shirt was in the front seat of the Bug, although the glass and metal were merciless on his bare arms and the sun was heating up his black tank-top.

"Because they're all assholes," Ban said simply. His life was now slowly flashing before his eyes, which probably wasn't a good sign but at the moment he didn't care. Hevn was either asleep or passed out in the back seat. (Ginji had told him matter-of-factly that she didn't smell yet so she couldn't be dead.)

"Ban-chan, do you think Kadsu-chan and Jubei-kun found a gas station?"

"I hope so. They've been gone for three hours. The only alternative is they died of heat exhaustion."

"Ban-chan, are we going to die?"

Ban thought about that seriously. "Yes. Eventually. But out here? I guess it's possible."

"Oh."

They were both quiet for a very long time. Finally, Ban inhaled deeply before speaking again. "Um...Ginji?"

"Yes, Ban-chan?"

"If we don't make it out of this alive, I just...I just want you to know...um..."

His voice was suddenly drowned out by the roar of a motorcycle engine as said mode of transportation pulled up alongside the Bug. Both Ban and Ginji blinked, not sure what to make of this turn of events. They were even more surprised when they noticed who was driving the motorcycle....

"Himiko-chan!" Ginji cried, pressing himself against the glass of the window next to his sign. Himiko looked at him for a moment, then at Ban, who had spun himself around and was now sitting up on the front of the Bug.

"Let me guess: you forgot to get gas," Himiko said at last.

Ban put his forehead in his hand. "I didn't _forget_ to get gas. The gas gauge said I had a full tank."

"Himiko-chan, are you here to help us?" Ginji asked hopefully.

Himiko gave Ban one last glare before looking over at Ginji. "Sure. Get in the side-car."

"You're trusting someone who generates electricity with their body around flammable chemicals?" Ban asked her.

"I trust him more than I trust you!" Himiko shot back. She looked into the back seat. "How about her?"

"She won't wake up," Ginji explained, reaching behind him and poking Hevn for effect. Fascinated by the way she jiggled, he did it again.

Himiko leaned against her bike, appearing to be deep in thought. She looked as if the heat hadn't phased her much, and on her motorcycle it probably hadn't. She occasionally looked up at Ban, who was giving her puppy-dog eyes, and back at Ginji, also giving her puppy-dog eyes. She had to resist the urge to pat them on the head and give them a treat.

Sighing, Himiko climbed back onto the motorcycle. She knew she would probably regret doing this in the long run, but she just couldn't help herself. "All right. Get in the side-car," she said to Ban. "But I am only taking you _to_ the gas station. I'll be damned if I have to turn around and inconvenience myself because of your mistake. And if you touch me I swear to any and all Gods that I will throw your ass out onto the side of the road."

"Deal," Ban said excitedly, jumping into the side-car. "Why do you have this, anyway? I thought you only used it when you knew you were going to have other people with you."

"I'm on my way to pick someone up for a job. Now shut up and hang on," Himiko snapped, starting the bike and easing herself onto the seat.

"Hold down the fort, Ginji!" Ban shouted behind him as the bike sped off onto the road.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"How much longer until we reach the next gas station?" Kadsuki asked from his position in the back seat. This car also had no air conditioning, but at least the windows rolled down all the way.

The driver shrugged as the passenger said "Hell if I know."

Kadsuki sighed and leaned back into the seat. The full effect of walking in the heat was finally taking it's toll on him, and he was fighting to keep his eyes open. Deciding sitting up required too much effort, he leaned against Jubei's surprisingly cool bare chest to no complaint from his companion.

"Is the heat finally getting to you?" Jubei asked simply.

Kadsuki nodded against his chest. "I don't work well like this. I was born in the winter. I'm designed for cold climates."

"What's going on back there?" the passenger snapped at them, turning around to face the pair in the back seat.

"He's sick. We've been walking in the hot sun for hours, and before that we were in a car with no air conditioning or windows that rolled down for at least two hours. He needs something to drink," Jubei explained evenly.

The passenger gave him a strange look, apparently unaware of the fact that he couldn't see it. "What are you two? Some kind of queer couple or something?"

"I'm hot, I'm sick, I'm irritable, and we're both armed. I don't suggest you make any more comments like that," Kadsuki warned, annoyed at the remark. Although not ashamed of his relationship _or_ his sexuality, he had issues with people who brought it up to be an insult.

The passenger was apparently not worried about any of the things he'd listed as he waved his hand in front of Jubei's face. "What's your deal, anyway? Can't you open your eyes?"

Kadsuki started to reach for his bells, but Jubei put an arm around him to keep him from doing so. "No, I can't. I'm blind," he said simply. Kadsuki had a wounded look on his face as he said this, which he aimed at the floor. 

The passenger turned to the driver. "Get this: we're being held up by a couple of queers! One's a scrawny, girly thing dying of heat exhaustion and the other one is blind!"

The driver stepped on the brakes, sending the passenger, Kadsuki, and Jubei flying forward. "Get out," the driver ordered.

Kadsuki removed his bell and held it up weakly. "Excuse me?"

"I said out. I'm not afraid of any damn string. You don't have the balls the use it, anyway."

Jubei lowered Kadsuki's arm. "Fine. We're leaving."

Kadsuki gave the men in the front seat one last glare as he reattached his bell, then opened the door and climbed out. Jubei picked up his jacket and goggles and followed suit, following the sound of bells to where Kadsuki was standing. As soon as they were clear, the car took off down the road.

"So now what?" Kadsuki asked, watching the car drive off into the distance.

"Now we keep walking. We can't be that far from a gas station now."

Kadsuki nodded. "That sounds like a plan."

And with that, he passed out on the side of the road.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It didn't take long for Ban to wish he had a helmet. He was sick of picking the bugs out of his teeth, the wind hurt his ears, and he wouldn't put it past Himiko to pull the pin connecting the side-car with the bike and sending him careening to his certain doom. Every once in a while he could feel Himiko glance down at him from the corner of her eye before returning her full attention to the road. If looks could kill...

Already feeling a little queasy from Himiko's reckless driving habits, Ban very nearly lost what little he had of his lunch when the bike screeched to a halt. He grasped the front of the side car to keep from flying onto the dusty road. "What the hell was that all about?!" he cried out, mentally praying to any and all deities thanking them for allowing him to live through that.

"Look," Himiko ordered, pointing to the side of the road as she climbed off the bike. Ban did as he was told. Kadsuki was in a heap on the side of the road, with Jubei close by, leaning against a fence post. Although Kadsuki was clearly unconscious, they couldn't be sure about Jubei. Ban climbed out of the side-car to check the pair's vitals while Himiko took a bottle of water out of the bag on the bottom of her side-car.

"They're alive," Ban told her calmly. Although he didn't have much sentimental attachment to them, Ginji did.

"I could have told you that," a voice told him coolly. He turned around to see Jubei slowly pulling himself to his feet. "And please tell me I am talking to Midou Ban and not a mirage."

"That's Ban," Himiko assured him. "And I really am Kudo Himiko. I have some water."

"Give it to him," Jubei instructed her. "I'll be fine. Better off than him, anyway. But he needs it."

Himiko nodded and crouched over Kadsuki's body. She knew him pretty well from their experience at Mugenjyou, but did she know him well enough to pry his mouth open and force water down his throat? She hoped so as she pulled on his jaw gently, forcing his mouth open, and pouring a minute bit in, waiting to see if he swallowed or if she would have to tip him on his side to keep him from drowning. Much to her relief he drank the water, which encouraged her to pour more into his mouth.

After a few repetitions of this, Kadsuki finally sputtered and coughed, turning onto his side on his own and spitting out the last mouthful of water. He slowly sat up, looking around him at all the people who were standing around him.

"What the hell?" he asked, coughing up a bit more water. "Where am I? And what are you doing here?"

"You're in the middle of nowhere, and we're here to save your life," Himiko explained, a bit insulted that he didn't thank her.

Kadsuki looked at her, noticed the bottle of water in her hand, and smiled. "Oh. Thanks, I guess. I passed out?"

"A while ago," Jubei confirmed. "No one has been stopping, either."

Himiko looked at them both, then over at Ban. Then she mentally cursed herself for being too nice. "I can give you two a ride if you're willing to share a side-car."

"And where am I going to ride?" Ban asked, pretty sure this meant he was going to be left on the side of the road.

Himiko glared at him again before pointing to a place on her stomach, just above her navel. "Your hands stay here. Any higher or any lower I throw you off my bike without stopping it. Understand?"

Ban raised an eyebrow. She was actually going to let him touch her? Well, heat did strange things to people...

Jubei helped Kadsuki over to the side-car, and Ban got on the back of the motorcycle, making sure he didn't touch any of the off-limits regions, and with that they were off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"That was nice of Himiko-chan to give you all a ride," Ginji said. The sun had already set, and they were just now back on the road, this time making sure they had an extra tank of gas. Hevn was also awake, but Jubei and Kadsuki had fallen asleep.

Ban tried not to think of the painful bruises dotting his body from when he had jokingly told Himiko that being that close to her on that bike had done things to him. Fortunately she had agreed to give him a ride back, as long as he got in the side-car and Kadsuki rode on the back of the bike. "Yeah, she's a real doll," he muttered through gritted teeth. Although the air conditioning was still out of commission, by kicking the door of the Bug he had managed to get the driver's side window to roll down, letting in the rapidly cooling night air.

"Remind me to never travel with you two again," Hevn told them. "You're both bad luck. You're bad luck with money and you're bad luck with traveling."

"Gladly," Ban told her, taking his pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and lighting it. The lighter was new, having left his usual one in the car. It said "Nowhere Gas" on it, and when he tipped it upside down the lady's clothes fell off. No one else had found it amusing on nearly as many levels as he had.

They were quiet at Ban took an appreciative drag from the cigarette. Stars had begun to dot the night sky. It was a calming effect, almost making him forget the stressful day he had just had.

"Ne, Ban-chan?" Ginji asked softly.

"Hn." Ban acknowledged, not really in the mood to speak.

"When we though we were going to die, you started to tell me something. Um...what were you going to say?"

Ban thought it over. Should he tell him now that they were probably going to live? Nah. Save it for the next time they thought they were dying. "I don't remember. Probably just the heat making me talk."

"Oh. Okay," Ginji told him with a nod, disappointment tinging his voice. Ban tossed his cigarette out the window, which ignited a passing tumbleweed, which rolled off to cause destruction and mayhem elsewhere....

**End of Chapter One**

*Cue Goo's Stupidity*

Next Chapter of Get Backers: "The Hotel of the Goshoku Sisters". Look forward to it!

Any similarity between anyone living or dead is purely coincidental unless other wise noted.


	2. The Hotel of the Goshoku Sisters

Disclaimer- Nope, Get Backers still ain't mine, nor do I want it. (I do have a copyright, and it's not all it's cracked up to be.)

Quick Note- Kaneko does _not_ have Evil Eyes. There's something else about her eyes that Ginji notices. Just thought I'd clear that up early. And Kuroko is the reason why you don't watch _Ringu_ and Get Backers back-to-back. I really don't like how this chapter turned out, and it was going to be longer but I decided I had a good cut-off point. Next chapter will be much better. I hope. Once again, my beta reader bailed on me so just my new spellchecker this time. If she's not around when I finish the next chapter I'll find a new beta reader.

**Wilhelm's Manuscript**

**Chapter Two: The Hotel of the Goshoku Sisters**

**By A Girl Named Goo**

There were no lights on in the room. A lone figure was sitting in a padded chair, situated before several monitors overlooking several rooms, almost all of which were empty. As he examined the actions on one monitor he held a phone up to his ear.

"So they're on their way?" a masculine voice with a thick German accent asked.

"Yes, they are. I just got a call from the Negotiator. They will be here any minute," the man in the room said confidently, his voice a hoarse whisper. He suddenly began coughing, and spat out blood into a tissue before waiting for the person on the phone to keep speaking.

"And the girls are ready?" the man on the phone continued.

"Jakob, you know them better than that. They have been entertaining half of our guests since yesterday, and I don't think they suspect a thing."

"That's good. Because you know what will happen if you ruin this for me, _Mr. Amaya_," the one of the phone warned ominously, forcing the foreign name out awkwardly.

"Yes, sir," Amaya confirmed.

"Very good." With that, the other hung up.

Amaya hung up the phone and grabbed another handful of tissues, doubling over as he coughed into it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So that's it?" Ban asked, looking at the building they were standing in front of. It had an odd design: instead of floors it was square shaped with the lobby, dining area, and baths on the side facing the road and the rooms lining the other three sides. From the top of a hill they had driven over to get to this place Ban had seen that there was a courtyard in the center with a pool.

"Western style," Hevn said. "It looks like a motel from the outside, but I can assure you it's very nice on the inside. I had a contact here check it out for me. And the price was decent, so it won't cost Mr. Hamrich that much."

"Where are all the people? I don't see any other cars," Kadsuki noted, looking at the adjacent parking lot.

Hevn sweat-dropped. "Business has been slow lately."

"Which is why you got such a great deal," Ban finished.

Ginji's stomach growled then. "Ban-chan, can we get some breakfast?"

Ban was still glaring at the empty parking lot as he eased into a parking space. "I'm sure they'll serve us some once we get checked in."

After comfortably parking, they walked over to the front of the Bug to get their luggage.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Be careful with that!" a voice shouted from a room adjacent to the lobby, where several crashes could be heard.

"I am careful!" a higher voice shouted back.

"Please, calm down! The guests will be here any minute!" a third voice added.

Everyone in the lobby sweat-dropped as Hevn hesitantly reached over to the bell on the desk, giving it a light tap. As if by magic, all of the noise in the other room disappeared. A door behind the desk slowly opened, and a figure emerged from the other room, turned, and smiled at the others.

"Hello," the woman said cheerfully. She was about middle aged, although still rather pretty. His long hair was dark green and braided down her back, and her eyes were large, brown, and friendly. Instead of wearing any kind of staff uniform she wore blue jeans and a loose green sweater. "Do you have reservations?"

Everyone turned their gaze to Hevn, who was still standing in front of the desk, her hand hovering over the bell. She retracted her hand and nodded slowly. "It should be under 'Hevn-san'," she told her slowly.

The woman nodded and opened a book. "Four rooms? Excellent. The rest of your party is already in the dining area. After breakfast we'll show you all to your rooms." Everyone was watching her dumbly again, and her smile started to waver. "Um...this way, please? And you can leave the bags. My sisters can get them."

As the woman lifted a board that allowed her to walk out from behind the desk, Ban leaned over and hissed in Hevn's ear "did she just say 'the rest of your party'?"

Hevn sped up to follow the woman as she pushed open another door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You told us you didn't hire anyone else!" Ban cried out as he looked around the dining room. Already sitting at the table were Shido, Emishi, and Himiko.

"No, I didn't! I just said I could replace you!" Hevn argued. "This is a difficult job. You have two groups who want to stop you. We can't take any risks."

"Shido-kun!" Ginji cried happily, running over to the table and sitting near said man, who gave him a rather surprised look. "You're going to be working with us?"

"Or so it seems," Shido confirmed, looking around the room at the people who had gathered there.

"Hevn-san said if we did this job we would be rich. And how could I resist when I found out our hotel was being run by lovely ladies?" Emishi added.

"Who we haven't seen since we got here," Himiko added. She was slumped over the table and was looking a little worn out.

"Where are they?" Kadsuki asked. He walked over to the table to sit down, Jubei following him.

"In there," Himiko answered, pointing at the door next to the one they had just walked through, where the woman who had shown them in had apparently disappeared to. Written on the door was "EMPLOYEES ONLY. KEEP OUT". In tiny print below "KEEP OUT" was written "please!".

"Relax, Lady Poison. You're just tired," a chilling voice said from the corner of the room. Everyone turned to look for the source of the voice. Mostly concealed by shadows was Akabane.

"Here to stab us in the back again, I see," Ban muttered, his eyes flashing angrily.

Akabane walked over to the table, but didn't sit down. "Midou Ban, you know as long as I am working with you I do my job. Even if I take other jobs in the meantime. Besides, this one sounds like it's going to be fun."

"Hevn!" Ban snapped, turning toward her. She had also sat down at the table, looking like she wished she could sink into the carpet and disappear.

"Ban-chan, sit down," Ginji said cheerfully, motioning to the empty seat across from him, which would put Ban between Emishi and Himiko.

Ban noticed Akabane seemed to be hovering in that area and sat down next to Hevn. "I'm fine here," he muttered, lighting a cigarette (with his old lighter this time).

"No smoking!" a voice called out, surprising him enough to make him drop his cigarette onto the carpet. He quickly picked it up and smashed it out on the table, looking for the source of the voice.

The door to the "employees only" area was open now. From the door came five women, single-file seemingly in order of height, each bringing over two trays of food before standing on the other side of the room, still in a line. The first looked suspiciously like a man, with very short golden-blonde hair and narrow golden eyes, golden stud earrings shining in her ears. Like the other, she was wearing blue jeans, but for a shirt she was wearing a yellow men's dress shirt.

The next was the woman with the green hair who had checked them in. For the first time Ban noticed she had emerald studs in her ears. She smiled at him warmly and took the cigarette from his hand before joining the other in the line.

The next was wearing a white kimono. Her black hair was long, stringy, and somewhat greasy, concealing her eyes but keeping her ears, pierced with silver studs, visible. Her skin was eerily pale, and Ginji couldn't help but cringe away from her as she placed food on the table in front of him.

The fourth had royal blue hair in a functional wedge-cut and dark blue eyes behind wire-frame glasses, her face expressionless as she put down her plates, sapphire earrings in her ears. Unlike the others she was wearing some semblance of a uniform, with neatly pressed light blue pants, a white blouse, and a royal blue vest.

The last, who was carrying plates, glasses, and chopsticks in a delicate balancing act was obviously the youngest, wearing a pink sundress dotted with minute red hearts. She couldn't have been even in high school yet, as she still had a cute, child-like face and diminutive, un-developed frame. Her hair was slightly wavy and shoulder-length, silver in color and kept back with a shiny red headband. The little rubies in her ears sparkled as she put plates in front of everyone, offering on to Akabane only to be politely refused, and then putting down glasses and chopsticks. When she came around the second time Ginji noticed her eyes. They were dark red, strange but not unsettlingly so. But there was something else about them...

The woman with the green hair cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. Ginji had been reaching over to get some food, and Kadsuki lowered his hand. As soon as everyone was facing the line of women, the one with the blonde hair spoke.

"We're the Goshoku sisters, and this is our hotel," she said simply. "I'm Kozeniko, the manager. The boss isn't to be disturbed so if you have any problems you bring them to me." She pointed to the green-haired one. "This is Kusakiko. She does all of the cooking and the first aid. If you're hungry or sick, you tell her." She pointed to the pale one with the stringy black hair. "This is Kuroko. She does most of the cleaning. She doesn't talk much, though, but if you make a mess let her handle it." Kozeniko walked down the line behind the blue-haired one. "This is Kikaiko. She gives you all the information you could possibly need. If you have any questions about the hotel or anything in it, you talk to her. If you're lost, just say so and she'll be able to find you." Ban was about to ask how she managed that one, but Kozeniko had already moved on to the last sister. "And this is Kaneko."

Everyone waited for Kozeniko to continue, and when she didn't Ginji asked the question on everyone's minds. "What does Kaneko-chan do?"

It was Kusakiko who answered. She shrugged. "Whatever needs to be done. Waiting on guests, showing them to their rooms, things like that. She's obviously a lot younger than the rest of us, so she can't really do much."

Kaneko waved to Ginji, who waved back, although he had a confused look on her face. Well, at least she was cheerful...

"After breakfast we'll show you to your rooms," Kuzeniko told them. "But right now, you can eat."

Ban leaned over to Hevn as the girls disappeared to the "employees only" room. "Four rooms for nine people?"

"Eight," Hevn corrected. "Akabane-san said he had his own accommodations."

"You couldn't get us all our own rooms?!"

Hevn reached over and began to load her plate with food. She hadn't eaten since mid-day the previous day. "And raise our business expenses? That comes out of our end profit, you know. You didn't set a number for our profit so that's what will happen. I just saved you some money. The more money you all get, the more I get. Understand?"

Ban couldn't argue, so instead he ate.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"One one one one...." Kaneko chanted, skipping and looking at the numbers of the doors in the hall, which were odd-numbered and in descending order. "One!" She stopped suddenly, causing Ban and Ginji to both collide with her. She took a card out of the pocket if her dress, slid it through the slot next to the door, and handed it to Ban. "Room number one. Would you like a tour?"

"Yes!" Ginji cried excitedly at the same time Ban said "No". Although Ginji was completely taken by the petite employee, there was something about her and her sisters Ban just didn't trust.

Kaneko pushed past them, carrying their bags. Apparently she had chosen to take Ginji's word over Ban's. "Room!" she announced, putting the bags in front of a door. "Closet!" She walked over to another door and opened it to reveal a sink, a toilet, and a shower. "Bathroom!" She walked over to a pair of sliding doors and threw them open. "Courtyard and pool!" She walked over to the bed and jumped on it. "Bed!" She sat up and pointed across the room. "Television!" She pointed at the bedside stand. "Phone!" And she finally stood and walked over to the door, closing it. On the back was a map of the layout of the hotel, including a fire escape route. "Map!"

"Wai! Ban-chan, we have a pool!" Ginji cried, running across the room and looking out beyond the sliding doors.

"There's only one bed?" Ban asked, looking at Kaneko and ignoring Ginji.

"Um....hold on," Kaneko said, walking over to what looked like a solid wall. "There should be...um...somewhere....here!" She suddenly kicked the wall. It fell over to reveal a bed. She pulled down the metal bar that supported the bottom, smoothed out the dusty covers half-heartedly, then threw herself onto it. "It works! Yay!"

Ginji walked over to the bed and also threw himself onto it. "Ban-chan, I want this one!"

Ban rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. He just wanted Kaneko out of the room.

"I've gotta go now," Kaneko said, standing up. "Bai bai, Midou-san! See you later, Ginji-kun!"

"See you, Kaneko-chan!" Ginji shouted back, still "testing" the bed by bouncing up and down on it.

And with that she was gone.

"Ne, Ban-chan, she's so cute!" Ginji announced.

Ban looked at the doorway. "There's something weird about her. About all of the sisters."

Ginji suddenly looked serious, looking down at the floor. "I know," he said. "But she's so nice. This place is so nice."

Ban sighed and sat on his own bed. "It is. Just watch out, all right? Tomorrow we're going down to the bay to see about renting some equipment to look for the manuscript."

"All right. But can we go in the pool first?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kadsuki sat down on the bed in the room they had just received a tour of. Jubei was standing near the door, and Kozeniko was blocking the doorway, leaning against it casually. "So, do you need anything else?"

"You look familiar," Kadsuki told her. That had been bothering him since he had first seen her. "Are you sure you're a girl?"

"I'm as much a girl as you are a guy."

"Touché," Kadsuki sighed. He thought a bit harder. He'd never heard of the Goshoku Sisters, but he had heard of... "Do you know the Sanshoku Sisters?"

Kozeniko glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Three girls. The Sanshoku Sisters. Queen Bee, the Miracle Worker, and Gold Coins."

Kozeniko narrowed her eyes further. "What do you know about them?"

Kadsuki knew he had struck a nerve. "In Mugenjyou, long ago before I joined the Volts and had my own gang, there was a section called Jyoukamachi on the fringes of the lowest level. Jyoukamachi was mostly a sanctuary for women and children, and it was protected by the Sanshoku Sisters."

Kozeniko sighed. "I know about that place. It disappeared, and everyone there who didn't disappear with it had to move to the lower level or leave."

"And the Sanshoku Sisters?" Jubei asked, knowing where this line of questioning was going.

"They disappeared," Kozeniko said flatly. "If we are done discussing history and you don't need anything, I'll be going now." She turned and left, shutting the door behind her.

"Just what I thought," Kadsuki said with a smile. "Three of those girls are the Sanshoku Sisters. I don't know where the other two came from."

"Why is that so important?" Jubei asked.

"You don't remember, do you?"

"Apparently not."

"Sanshoku-sensei, the middle sister. The Miracle Worker. She was a doctor and an herbologist. She earned her title after making scars on a severely burned little girl disappear. I think Kusakiko is that sister."

Jubei sighed and looked at the floor. "I know where this is going."

"It couldn't hurt to see what she can do," Kadsuki told him.

Jubei shook his head. "You heard Kozeniko-san. They aren't the Sanshoku Sisters anymore. I don't think they want us to know who they are."

"I just wonder how they ended up working here..." Kadsuki mused, staring at the closed door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I don't think I want to watch those two," Kozeniko muttered, looking at Kusakiko, who had just come back from showing Hevn and Himiko to their rooms. The were currently in a room full of monitors, similar to the ones in the room of their boss.

"Why not? I like them," Kusakiko said idly, watering some plants she had growing in a box under a sunlamp. "You got the lovers. You're very fortunate."

"Stop being such a romantic. You're old enough now to know love is not the answer to everything," Kozeniko muttered. The door to the room opened, and Kikaiko walked in, having just checked on Shido and Emishi, who she was assigned to watch.

"They're very interesting," Kikaiko reported flatly, pushing up her glasses.

"And they figured out who we are," Kozeniko told them. "They know we were once the Sanshoku."

Kusakiko dropped her watering can. "How?" she asked softly.

"They're from Mugenjyou."

The door opened once more, and Kaneko walked in. The conversation immediately ceased. Kaneko and Kuroko didn't know about Mugenjyou or the Sanshoku, and they never would if the others had any say in the matter.

"Ginji-kun is fun!" Kaneko announced cheerfully. "Can I keep him? Please?"

"Focus," Kozeniko snapped. She was a temperamental person by nature, but the fear of having her past discovered was making her even more irritable.

"Amaya-san won't be pleased when he finds out," Kusakiko whispered into Kozeniko's ear. Then she said, louder, "I think I will go and offer my services to the pair in room two."

"Why?" Kaneko asked, cocking her head to the side.

Kusakiko smiled down at her. "One of them is blind, and I think I can help."

"Don't expect any miracles," Kuzeniko warned. Then she whispered into her ear "remember what happened last time you bought into your own hype."

Kusakiko nodded, walked across the room to where her plants were growing, and removed something from the cabinet. "I'll check on the ladies in three while I am out. Where is Kuroko, by the way?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Neither one moved. Kuroko stood on one side of the dining room, eyes hidden, arms drawn in close to her, not speaking. Akabane had an amused smile on his face and he looked at her from beneath his hat. Were they engaged in some sort of contest? Or did the young woman not want to move unless he did?

"You are very patient," he observed. When she nodded, he continued to speak. "When will you move?"

"I am supposed to serve you," she said quietly. "Even if you do not have a room, you are here."

"Why do you have to serve me?"

"Because my boss said I have to."

"Your boss?"

"My employer."

"Where is your employer?"

"He cannot be disturbed."

Akabane nodded. Although his smile had not faded, he was in no mood to talk in circles with this woman. "Good day. I will be seeing you again," he said to her, before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Did you get a load of that girl who has been serving us? I mean, talk about _ice_," Emishi prattled on. He was on the fold-out bed, having been kicked off the other by Shido the previous evening when they arrived. "What do ya think it takes to get her to smile? I'll bet ya half the money I make on this job that I can make her smile."

"No," Shido said simply. He was standing in the entrance of the courtyard, stroking a bird that had landed on his hand.

Emishi sat up. "Because you know I can do it, eh, Shido-kun?"

"No. Because I don't like taking advantage of the weak-minded."

Emishi finally stood up and walked over to him. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

Shido released the bird and closed the doors. "It means you're not funny. It would be an easy win. And I really don't want your money."

Emishi pretended to cry. "That hurts me, Shido-kun!"

Shido slid a panel on the door away to reveal a small window. Ginji, wearing nothing but his boxer shorts, had just cannon-balled into the pool and was now swimming eagerly. Ban, clad in similar attire, was easing his way in. Or he was before Ginji grabbed his ankle and pulled him off the ladder.

"It's true," Shido told him simply.

"I always used to be able to make her smile," he muttered. "What happened to her, anyway? Didn't she used to have a personality?"

Shido closed the window and looked at Emishi. "Things change. People change. These are obviously very different Sisters than the ones we knew from Jyoukamachi."

"They're weird now, though. Cold. Mean. Even Kusakiko-chan. She used to be so nice."

"This whole place is odd," Shido observed, sitting on the bed. "Did you notice how many of those 'employees only' doors there are? Most hotels only have one for the kitchen, one for the manager's office, and one for the employee lounge. It seems like their are more 'employees only' doors in this place than there are rooms open to guests."

"I can explain that," a soft voice said. Emishi turned around quickly as Shido glared in the doorway. Kikaiko was standing in the doorway, looking oddly robotic with her stiff posture and expressionless face. "I apologized if I startled you. I did knock. You must not have heard me."

"What's the deal with the doors?" Emishi asked, ignoring her apology.

Kikaiko readjusted her glasses. "We all live here. We all have our own rooms. Our boss also has his own room and office. Then there is our break room and the kitchen."

"Where is your boss, anyway?" Emishi pressed. "Doesn't he know you're supposed to greet your guests?"

Kikaiko's expression almost faltered at that statement. "If you don't need anything, I will be going," she said at last, shutting the door behind her.

"Yup. This place is definitely screwy," Emishi assessed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Why should you get that bed? I am exhausted! I didn't get any sleep last night because I had to check out this weird place you found for us to stay in, and before that I was riding my motorcycle back and forth for a full day!" Himiko argued.

"I had to ride in a car with Midou Ban and Amano Ginji! And besides, my back hurts," Hevn shot back, grabbing her back for effect.

"Maybe if your _things_ weren't so big-"

"Um...excuse me?" a voice asked meekly from the doorway. The bickering women turned to glare at the source of the voice. "Is....is there a problem?"

"Are there any more rooms available? I'll pay. Extra," Himiko asked.

Kusakiko shook her head. "No, I don't believe so. They are all spoken for. Perhaps you should try playing a game to see who gets the bed."

Himiko and Hevn turned to face each other, before chanting in unison "Rock paper scissors shoot!" Hevn threw down rock, and Himiko threw down paper.

"I win," Himiko said simply, walking over to the bed and throwing herself onto it.

"Best two out of three!" Hevn demanded.

"You lost. Now let me sleep," Himiko told her, voice muffled by the pillow.

Kusakiko looked over at the other bed. "I suppose I _ could_ change the bedding, if you would like..."

"Do what you want. I'm going into the pool."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Watch out, Ban-chan!" Ginji shouted in warning, before running over to the edge of the pool and executing a perfect cannonball. There was a sign that said "no running", but no one was around to enforce it.

Ban wiped the water from his eyes and looked in the clear water, trying to find his sunglasses. Finally locating them, he down in, retrieved them, and replaced them. "I told you to stop doing that, Ginji," he muttered, but not loud enough for Ginji to hear. He was rather enjoying watching his partner having such a good time, even if he got a bit over-excited.

"Can we stay here again when we're not working?" Ginji asked. He as floating on his back now.

"I don't...don't...whoa...." Ban lost his train of thought.

"'Whoa'?" Ginji asked, opening his eyes and standing up again. He noticed what had caught Ban's attention: Hevn, in a very tiny black string bikini.

"Mind if I join you boys?" Hevn asked. She received a pair of dumb nods in reply, and slid into the cold water. The fact that Ginji and Ban were already in cold water didn't seem to be helping.

They probably would have been frozen in the pool all day if a shrill voice hadn't screamed "LOOK OUT!". Everyone just barely got out of the way in time for a pink flash to land in the pool with an unbelievable splash. When the pink streak resurfaced, Ban almost left right then: it was Kaneko, wearing a hot pink one-piece.

"Don't you have work you should be doing?" Ban asked her, scooping up his sunglasses before they could sink to the bottom of the pool. The size of that splash in relation to the petite girl and the amount of momentum she had was disturbing him, and he still didn't trust her.

"I _am_ working. I'm supposed to make sure you are comfortable," Kaneko explained. She proceeded to dogpaddle over to Ginji.

Ban was going to make a comment about not being comfortable when she was around, but she and Ginji were already engaged in a splashing contest. Perhaps his distrust of her _was_ unfounded. But he wasn't going to let his guard down, just in case.

"I think she likes him," Hevn said to Ban. He hadn't even notice her approach as he watched Kaneko try to run from Ginji in a game of water tag.

Ban sighed. "I don't trust her. Or her sisters."

Hevn shrugged. "Kusakiko has been serving us. They do have an odd habit of appearing at times that are far too convenient."

"How old do you think she is, anyway? She looks young enough to be one of the older ones' daughter."

"Kusakiko says she's fifteen. I asked after she ran into me in the hall. You're right about there being something odd about her. When she landed on top of me she weighed at least twice as much as she looks."

Kaneko was chasing Ginji around the parameter of the pool now. Ban readjusted his glasses. "That's what I thought. The splash she made when she landed in the pool was much too big." He looked over at Hevn now. "Leave it to you to find us a hotel run by a group of weird, untrustworthy sisters and an invisible boss."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"They look like they're having a good time," Kadsuki observed from his place at the window to the courtyard.

"You should join them," Jubei offered. "We'll probably be a while here."

"Oh, not long," Kusakiko reassured. "In fact, I'm just about finished. Remember: that's not a cure, but it should prevent any further nerve damage and buy you some time until you do find one." She put the lid on the jar of sweet-smelling ointment that was next to her on the bed and stood, leaving Jubei face-down and topless on the covers. "Give that about an hour and then go down into the baths to get off the excess before it hardens on. That is usually not pleasant."

"Thank you," Kadsuki told her sincerely. "I do have one question, though, Goshoku-sensei, if it's not too much to ask..."

"Ask me anything. And please, call me Kusakiko. I've never liked being called 'sensei'. Too stuffy."

Kadsuki nodded. "Kusakiko-san, why did you leave Mugenjyou?"

Kusakiko dropped the jar. She paused for a long time, before kneeling down and picking it up. "Please don't tell any of the others I talked to you about this. Kuroko and Kaneko aren't supposed to know about Mugenjyou, and Kozeniko and Kikaiko want to forget about it."

"So you _were_ the doctor at Jyoukamachi," Jubei said, mostly to himself. "And the others..."

Kusakiko sat in a chair near the door. "That was long ago. Before the Raitei left...Jyoukamachi was his idea, you know. A whole section of the lower portion just for women and children, and also for the sick and disabled. Kozeniko- my real sister- and I came just after it was established. It was her idea to protect it. She said with my medical training I'd be an invaluable asset. We originally met Kikaiko as a patient, but then she started helping Kozeniko, and we got our new names and became the Sanshoku sisters. And when the Raitei left....it just disappeared. It was like Jyoukamachi never existed. People we cared about were gone...it was too much. And we knew we couldn't stay in Mugenjyou. It was time for us to move on. And that's when we met our boss. He told us he would employ us at his hotel if I would be his personal doctor, and we ended up getting trapped here."

"Trapped?" Kadsuki repeated, staring at the woman intently.

Kusakiko shifted the jar of ointment in her hands. "He wasn't so bad until he got into debt. He's still working it off. And then Kuroko and Kaneko came...they weren't like us. But we couldn't refuse them. They were lost souls, just like Kozeniko and I were when we first found our way into Mugenjyou. And we didn't have a choice." Kusakiko suddenly looked up at Kadsuki, tears in her eyes. "I've said too much. Just listen to me: do as we say. Follow all of the rules, no matter what. Stay out of the rooms that are for employees only. And be careful of what you say or do. There's always someone watching or listening."

Kusakiko stood and left the room, wiping away the tears and walking all the way down the hall. She pushed a door open, a was suddenly overwhelmed by the bitter scent of medicine and antiseptic. The room was cold, sterile, and very dark. "Amaya-san, I've done it."

The sound of wet wheezing was heard before a figure in front of a wall of monitors spoke. "So I saw."

"I didn't want to."

"So you've told me."

Amaya began to cough hard, dropping the oxygen mask he had been holding to his mouth and grabbing some tissues. Kusakiko ran to his side, picking up the mask and putting it over his face, although his coughing was splattering blood inside of it.

"Is it time..." he started, before coughing again. "Time for my medicine?"

Kusakiko looked at her watch. There were still three hours to go before he needed to take his medication, but instead of telling him so she said, simply, "yes, it is."

**End of Chapter Two**

Notes on Jyoukamachi:

- Name means "Castle Town" or "Town Outside the Castle".

- Actually a part of the lower level.

- Disappeared when the Raitei/Ginji left because it was his idea, and Babylon City didn't want any trace of it left.

- The people disappeared because they weren't real.

- Goo didn't want to include it or any Mugenjyou connection in this fic, but decided this fic needed the cliché former Mugenjyou residents who are pissed at Ginji or people who influenced Ginji.

*Cue Goo's Stupidity*

Next Chapter of Get Backers: "Employees Only! The Secrets of the Goshoku Sisters and Amaya Hajime". Look forward to it!

Any similarity between anyone living or dead is purely coincidental unless other wise noted.


	3. Employees Only! The Secrets of the Gosho...

Disclaimer- If you all still think I own Get Backers you need to get your heads examined.

Notes- I cannot stress this enough: I DO NOT READ THE MANGA AND I PROBABLY NEVER WILL. I am following ANIME continuity. As much as I appreciate the manga info, as a review to point out "mistakes" in an ANIME centered fic it's not appreciated. If people really want to fill me in on every detail of the manga, they can get on AIM with me.

Wilhelm's Manuscript

Chapter Three: Employees Only! The Secrets of the Goshoku Sisters and Amaya Hajime

By A Girl Named Goo

Kusakiko sighed longingly as she looked at one of the many monitors lining the wall. Although there was no color, she could hear everything that was being said. The whirring sound of a tape making a copy of the actions on the monitor was the only other sound in the dark room before the door opened. Kozeniko looked at her sister quizzically, before noticing what was happening on the monitor, sighing, and giving the other woman a light smack on the shoulder.

"Kozeniko!" Kusakiko gasped, spinning around in the chair. "What are you doing in here?"

"I needed to get some more chlorine for the pool. What are you doing here? Never mind, that's obvious." Kozeniko pointed at the monitor she had been staring at, which displayed goings-on in the baths. "I am supposed to watch them," she said sternly. She pointed at two monitors in succession as she said, "you watch her and her." In the first monitor Himiko and Shido were in some kind of library. It was full of books, but there were also several glass display cases, which contained rare coins, exotic plants, and a collection of insects from around the world. Shido was examining a case full of insects from Africa, dead and pinned down, curiously as Himiko stared at some beautiful flowers from the South American rain forest, perfectly preserved in their case. In the other monitor was the room Hevn and Himiko were sharing. Hevn had Himiko's small travel bag laid on her own bed and had removed one of Himiko's shirts, examining it distastefully before pausing a moment and walking over to the mirror, laying it over her own red tube-top for a moment and admiring herself. She finally looked at the garment again, as if considering it, and then threw it back into the bag, moving it back over to Himiko's side of the room.

"Can't we trade?" Kusakiko asked hopefully. "You don't even like them very much, and you get along better with women than men."

"Oh, yes, wonderful idea. Why don't you go to Amaya-san right now and tell him he's had a lapse of judgment and you want to trade."

Kusakiko gasped, then looked back at the monitor where the baths were located. "All right. It's almost lunchtime, anyway. I'll be along in a few moments."

"Good," Kozeniko said with an approving nod, picking up the jug of chlorine and leaving the room once more.

But Kusakiko didn't move. Instead, she reached out and ran her fingers longingly over the monochromatic figures of Jubei and Kadsuki.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ginji and Kaneko stood in the dining room, looking around for signs of life. The girl had been leading Ginji from one place to another all morning, showing him everything from the game room to the pool shed. Once in a while she would tell him to wait and duck into one of the ominous "Employees Only" rooms, but when she came back out she'd be just as cheerful as ever.

"It's almost lunch time!" she announced excitedly. She continued looking around the dining room. Ginji, not sure what she was looking for, joined in her search. After about five minutes they managed to bump heads under the table, which hurt more than Ginji would have imagined it could.

"What are we looking for?" he asked, rubbing the top of his aching head.

"My sister," Kaneko explained. "Kusakiko makes lunch. She usually has it out by now." She crossed the room to the "Employees Only" door where they had all appeared the first time Ginji had seen them and held up her hand in a stopping gesture. "Wait right here," she told him firmly, but it was the sound of a child pretending to be an adult in some game. She disappeared into the room. It didn't take long for crashing and banging to be heard from within as metal objects fell to the floor and collided with each other. After a few moments of silence, Kaneko appeared once more. "Nope. She's not in there. Let's go find her."

Kaneko lead the way into one of the hallways, sticking her head into every "Employees Only" door on the way and shouting "Kusakiko!". They rounded a corner to the darkened "top" of the square hotel, which she flicked the lights on to. There were fewer of the mysterious "Employees Only" rooms here, so they didn't stay here long. There was one room at the end of the hall, which Kaneko hesitantly reached for before apparently deciding against it and turning to an unmarked door, which lead to the other side of the hotel. She resumed checking the rooms one by one.

"You missed one," Ginji pointed out, finding odd she would throw open all of these other doors with little regard for what could be behind them but skip one after taking a moment to decide.

"No I didn't," she said, her voice cheerful but eerily firm. Ginji decided to wisely drop the subject as Kaneko threw open another door, starting to say "Kuskakiko" again before stopping herself, saying "there you are!", and disappearing behind the ominous door. Ginji wasn't sure why these doors were so spooky. They were the same gray color as every other door. But something about those signs.... the way they looked (apparently it had been Kaneko's idea to add "please!" to each one of them), the sheer number of them...it just wasn't normal.

When Kaneko finally left the room, she was grinning broadly. "Kusakiko said she's busy working but while we wait for lunch we can have a snack."

Ginji followed her as she skipped off to the dining room excitedly, disappearing into the kitchen (more crashing and banging could be heard) and leaving him waiting in the dining room.

Ban was passing through the dining room at that moment. He noticed Ginji sitting at the table, backwards in a chair, staring hard at the door to the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" he asked, also looking at the door.

"Kaneko is getting us a snack," he explained, still staring at the door intently, like it would make her hurry.

Ban listened to the loud noises coming from the kitchen. "Does she have to kill it first?" he joked.

"I don't think so," Ginji said, apparently missing the joke. At that moment the door opened. It was dark in the kitchen so they couldn't see what was in it, but Kaneko all but skipped out, carrying two bowls of strawberry ice cream.

"Here you go!" she said cheerfully. Ginji looked at the treat excitedly and began digging in, and Kaneko quickly followed suit.

Ban looked at them both oddly. "How much does ice cream cost?" he asked at last.

Kaneko shrugged. "I don't know. But Ginji-kun is my friend, so he can have some. Would you like some?"

Ban looked at her warily. There was still something odd about her that he didn't trust, which was reaffirmed when she looked him in the eye, smiling. Her eyes were...shimmering. Little silver specs were dotting the crimson irises, and although the pupils were black, they had a silvery shine to them, like the mineral hematite.

"No thanks," he said slowly, turning around and leaving the room again.

Ginji looked at Ban as he retreated. He'd been cold to Kaneko since they had showed up, no matter how nice Kaneko tried to be to him. What was wrong with him?

"Is it good, Ginji-kun?" Kaneko asked. She had finished her ice cream already and was trying to scoop out the last of the melted mess on the bottom of the bowl.

"It's great, Kaneko-chan," Ginji said with a smile. Then he finished his ice cream in silence.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kikaiko was alone in the game room, picking up the horrible mess Kaneko and Ginji had left during their "tour" of the hotel. Her face was a stony mask as she placed the equipment back where it went. Although this was technically Kuroko's job, both her and the person she was supposed to be attending to had been absent most of the day.

"Boo!" a loud voice said from behind Kikaiko. She didn't flinch. Her glasses didn't even move out of place. Emishi stepped out in front of her, looking her in the eye. "Nothing? Not even a little jump? You always used to humor me when I did that." Kikaiko didn't respond. In fact, she seemed to be taking great pains to ignore he was there, which was impressive considering no matter where she stepped Emishi was right in front of her.

"Remember that time you had a drink in your hand and I did that? You threw it all over Shido-kun, and then we both laughed so hard. I always wondered how you could always see me coming, though. I never could surprise you."

"Is there anything you need?" Kikaiko asked, neither confirming nor denying the story he was talking about had happened.

"Come on! It's me, Emishi, your old pal!" Emishi said desperately. "People would see us coming and they'd say 'there's Emishi and Etsuko. Someone's gonna be in trouble'. Remember? And I loved how you'd keep putting bugs in people's food. It was hilarious. Don't you remember?"

Kikaiko shifted a little upon hearing her old name, but otherwise didn't comment. She had to use every bit of her iron-strong will to keep from turning to Emishi and telling him to get lost.

"You're not still pissed about _that_, are you?" Emishi continued. "Look, I said I was sorry! I didn't know you would get hurt when I did it! But you didn't have to stay in Jyoukamachi afterwards. I mean, it's been years. Can't you forgive me now?"

Kikaiko finally stopped working and turned to face him, readjusting her glasses. "Kikaiko and Etsuko are different people. Please stop talking to me like we are the same person."

"You know, you always said you'd sooner kill yourself than end up like Shido-kun," Emishi pointed out. "You act just like him now. All cold with this lone-wolf 'I don't need anyone but myself' attitude. It's a real drag. Come on, smile a little. For old time's sake."

Kikaiko stood up straight and faced him, midnight blue eyes meeting his sunglasses-covered ones. She wanted to say something to him, something about how it was his fault she was here, that she was like this. Instead she said, in her most even, robotic voice, "If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know." With that, she turned and left the room, leaving Emishi standing stunned in the game room.

Emishi stood in the room for a long moment, remembering Etsuko. They had been teenagers, Etsuko not being much older than he was, with her short royal-blue hair, dark blue eyes (although no glasses), and sweet smile. No matter how many times people told her not to humor Emishi, she would always laugh at his childish pranks and stupid jokes, even helping in a few of his tricks. Occasionally she was the mastermind, using her insects to frighten the unsuspecting.

And then he went too far. They were used to playing pranks on each other, and Emishi had overheard some people talking about an alleyway where kids usually played with fireworks that they weren't supposed to have to keep from getting in trouble. He thought it would be funny to send her in and let the sounds of the fireworks going off frighten her, but when he told her he had lost something there and sent her down the alleyway she didn't come back out. Emishi had waited for her for a long time, but he'd heard nothing. No fireworks. No people. And no Etsuko. Finally, he'd gone into the alleyway. She was a bloody mess on the ground, not moving and barely breathing. He panicked, looked for help. Someone told him to take her to Jyoukamachi.

He never found out what happened to her that day. When she woke up she was very quiet and didn't want to see him. When she finally well she saw him just one more time...

"I'm staying here," she'd told him firmly, eyes pointed at the ground. "I've talked it over with the woman who protects this place and she said that I could stay and help them protect Jyoukamachi."

"You can't stay here!" Emishi had cried out. "What about me? What about us? Who is going to help me play tricks on people?"

She'd finally looked him in the eye, her eyes darker, clouded over with hurt and anger. "It seems like you'd rather play tricks on me than with me," she'd said simply, before disappearing into Jyoukamachi once again. Emishi had tried to follow, but the blonde woman standing at the opening that separated this area from the rest of Mugenjyou wouldn't let him. He was too old, a man, and not injured. He knew that she was really turning him away because of what he'd done to Etsuko, though.

Emishi looked around the game room one last time, sighed, and then left, closing the door behind him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ban leaned next to the door to the baths for a moment. Across the hall was yet another peculiar "Employees Only" door, which there seemed to be no end of in this place. Just what were they doing in this place? Letting his curiosity get the best of him, he walked across the hall and gripped the doorknob of the door, about to turn it when...

"Can I help you?" a low, breathy voice said from behind him. Ban swung around to see Kuroko standing behind him, eyes concealed by her hair. Somehow Ban felt colder with her in such close proximity.

"Oh, um...I needed some aspirin. I thought this was the kitchen," he lied quickly. Then he remembered the kitchen was also "Employees Only".

Instead of commenting on this, Kuroko just nodded slowly. "Come with me," she said softly, leading him out into the dining room. Ginji was sitting at the table, watching Kaneko take the many dirty dishes and remnants of their lunch into the kitchen. Kaneko looked over at Kuroko and Ban.

"Kuroko-chan! I'm supposed to help him!" she pouted from behind the dishes, before disappearing into the kitchen. Kuroko followed her. Ban watched the door as they disappeared behind it. There seemed to be no light on in the kitchen. Every time he had seen someone go in or out of it, it had been completely dark.

"Wasn't lunch good, Ban-chan?" Ginji asked, breaking the silence that had descended over the dining room. Before Ban could answer, the tell-tale crashes that meant Kaneko was in the kitchen were heard. Finally she marched out triumphantly, holding a glass of water and two peculiar green pills.

"Here you go! I hope your headache feels better, Midou-san," she said cheerfully, handing them all to him. Then she thought about the statement for a moment. "I mean, I hope you feel better and your headache goes away."

Ban ignored this correction as he examined the pills. "What are these?"

Kaneko shrugged. "Some kind of plant stuff. Kusakiko-chan doesn't like aspirin or other medicines so she makes stuff like that."

Ban looked at the pills suspiciously, but Ginji and Kaneko were both looking at him expectantly. Mentally making a note to haunt this place if this killed him, he put both of the pills in his mouth and swallowed the water. Kaneko grinned broadly, then grabbed Ginji's hand. "Come on! Let's go to the game room and play a game!"

Ginji seemed taken off guard by the force of Kaneko dragging him out of the room, but he soon regained his footing and was able to follow her on his own. Ban watched her through narrowed eyes, then turned and went back toward the baths. He needed to relax. This place was really starting to fray his nerves.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Himiko opened one of the books from one of the many bookshelves lining the library walls, leaning against a case of rare coins. She compared the coins in the case with the ones in the book. "These are worth a fortune," she concluded. "They belong in a museum. Not in a hotel."

"Maybe they're not real," Shido suggested, not looking at the case. He was finished staring at the insects and had moved on to the case containing the plants. He didn't sound like he believed what he was saying.

"Maybe they're stolen," Himiko suggested back, voicing her original suspicion. She shelved the book and picked out another, this one containing myths and legends of Europe. She tossed a glance to the corner, where Akabane was standing in the shadows, also looking through a book. In fact, it was the same book he had been reading when Himiko first entered the library. She wondered what was so fascinating about it if it could keep him interested for so long. He seemed to be reading it cover to cover.

"No, I don't think they are. I can't remember any rare coins being stolen recently," Shido told her. "Maybe they're private collectors or one of them inherited them." Shido had almost said one of them did collect them, because he knew who each of the rare collections they were looking at belonged to, but he managed to change his statement in time. Himiko didn't know three of the sisters were from Mugenjyou. In fact, only he, Emishi, and (from what he'd heard them discussing on their way to the baths) Kadsuki and Jubei knew that. Not even Ginji seemed to remember the Sanshoku Sisters of Jyoukamachi.

"This place is very strange," Himiko commented at last. "The one who is supposed to wait on me and Hevn-san, Kusakiko, is very peculiar. She kept asking us what we knew about Kadsuki-san and Jubei-san, if I had a boyfriend or if I'd ever been in love...and then she started asking us about our health. She was standing right outside the door when I woke up from my nap to ask me if I was feeling all right. It was creepy."

"She's a doctor," Shido said absently.

Himiko shelved the book she had been leafing through and looked over at him. "How do you know that?"

Shido didn't turn to face her, instead staring intently at the case of insects. "Goshoku Kusakiko is a world famous herbologist and Eastern medicine specialist." It was the truth, although that wasn't how he knew she was a doctor. He didn't even know how long she'd been practicing medicine, or what name was on her Ph.D.

There was a sudden sound of a book snapping shut that startled both Shido and Himiko. They turned to face Akabane, who gave the cover one last look, simply said "Interesting" (although the others in the room weren't sure if he was talking about the book or the conversation), and then re-shelved the book, leaving the room quickly and quietly. After he was gone for a few moments, Himiko walked to the end of the shelf to see the title of the book he had been reading.

It was a crimson-colored tome, and as she pulled it out she had to admit she wasn't at all surprised by the title.

The Life and Crimes of Jack the Ripper

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ban pushed open the door to the baths. There was a divider that he almost walked into, about 10 centimeters wide, with two metal signs screwed into it. The first said "Please return all towels when finished bathing." Below it was a sign with two arrows. The one that pointed left had a blue silhouette of a generic-looking man used on most signs. The one pointing right had a pink generic-looking woman. Turning left, he found himself in a small square room. Eight lockers were lining the wall: four on top, four on bottom. He opened one to find a towel resting in it and a small card lying on the towel. He picked it up and read it.

"'For the convenience of our honored guest'," he read out loud. He removed the towel and stripped off his clothes, placing them in the locker and closing it. He noted idly as he walked toward a door (with yet another sign that read "please leave all clothing in the lockers and remember your locker number") that there was yet another "Employees Only" door when he looked down the corridor that lead to the locker section of the women's bath, with a slight turn that prevented him from seeing anyone on that side of the partition. Well, the hotel was run by women...

Readjusting his sunglasses and making sure the towel was around his waist, he pushed open the door that lead to the baths. Inside the water smelled strange...sweet...the unmistakable scent of herbs. He had no doubt that had been the idea of the friendly (though peculiar) woman who had asked him about his luck with love during lunch and had made those pills he had been foolish enough to take. The steam had already fogged up his sunglasses as he dropped his towel and settled into the hot water.

Ban leaned back and closed his eyes, breathing in the sweet smell of the herbs. He was so caught up in his reverie he almost missed the pair of figures on the other end of the bath. He suddenly sat up very straight, on the alert now, before relaxing again. It was Jubei and Kadsuki, and this time he wasn't spying on them so they had no reason to attack. In fact, they didn't seem to be awake. Kadsuki was leaning against Jubei comfortably, the water coming up to his bare shoulders and his long hair tied up to keep it from dragging in the water. Jubei had his head titled back slightly, his arm apparently loosely wrapped around Kadsuki in a protective gesture from what Ban could see of it above the water.

Ban decided to leave them alone as he dunked his head under the water. He still hadn't gelled his hair from after his swim, as he planned to bathe first and get the chlorine out. When he emerged he wiped his glasses with the corner of his towel.

"Hello?" Jubei asked, jumping Ban almost enough to drop his sunglasses.

"It's me," he said, not bothering to clarify. He replaced his sunglasses on his face. "You were asleep, so I thought I'd just get in and get out."

"I wasn't asleep. I just wanted to know who was in here," Jubei corrected. "That is you, isn't it Midou?"

For a moment Ban considered saying it wasn't him, but decided that would be cruel. "Yeah, it's me."

"Is he asleep?" he asked, gesturing at Kadsuki with his head.

Ban nodded, before catching himself and answering verbally. "Yeah, he is. I think he is, anyway."

Jubei nodded and moved his hand up to Kadsuki's shoulder to hold him tighter, again protectively. "He's been so tired lately. I don't think he slept well in the car last night and he hasn't slept at all today. He thinks I can't tell when he's tired. He just pretends he's fine."

Ban didn't say anything. It sounded more like Jubei was talking to himself than him. They were quiet for a long moment, before Jubei spoke again.

"We had a strange conversation with one of the sisters that run this place," Jubei started, not loosening his grip on Kadsuki.

Ban sat up straighter. He wanted to know anything about these peculiar sisters and what they were up to. Fortunately, without verbal prompting, Jubei continued.

"The one named Kusakiko is a doctor. She's why we came in here in the first place. She told us to mind all the rules, stay out of the Employees Only rooms, and that we were always being watched."

"What?" Ban cried, suddenly leaping out of the water and grabbing a towel, searching for a camera. At that, Kadsuki began to stir. He opened his brown eyes blearily, blinking at Ban before gasping and grabbing his own towel, shaking off Jubei's hand and jumping out of the bath so he could cover himself.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding vaguely panicked. Ban wasn't sure he was entirely awake yet, or if he fully recognized him.

"I was taking a bath until I found out we're being watched," Ban answered honestly.

Kadsuki sighed and leaned over to take Jubei's hand and pull him out of the bath. "I didn't mean to fall asleep there," he muttered, handing Jubei his towel. Ban wasn't sure which of them Kadsuki was talking to, or if he was really talking to either of them. Apparently he wasn't exactly in top form when he woke up. Jubei seemed to already know this, as he steered the still-muttering Kadsuki out of the baths. Ban used the time they took to change to search for a camera, but could find none as he went into the locker room to change his clothes.

The entire time Ban was changing he was forming paranoid thoughts in his head, of the sisters alone in a dark room, watching them all...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Himiko was once again feeling worn as she made her way back to the room she shared with Hevn. Part of her wanted another nap, but the part that won out was the one that wanted to take a dip in the pool. She groaned when she opened the door and noticed Hevn sleeping on the bed she had won fair and square, and was even more upset when she realized her bag had been gone through. Muttering unpleasant things about her roommate, she fished down to the bottom of her bag and withdrew her violet two-piece swimsuit. She probably wouldn't attract the kind of attention Hevn had, but at the moment she really didn't care.

After changing into her bathing suit in the bathroom, she grabbed a towel and opened the door to the courtyard, walking toward the edge of the pool. In the bright afternoon sun she didn't notice anyone was out there until she was almost at the side of the pool. Kozeniko was fishing leaves off the surface with the pool skimmer, cigarette dangling from her mouth.

"I thought you weren't allowed to smoke here," Himiko said, putting down her towel and sitting on the edge of the pool. She didn't want to get in until Kozeniko was finished.

The blonde woman took her cigarette out of her mouth, examined it, shrugged, and put it back. "Do as I say, not as I do. Besides, it's Kusakiko's rule. Not mine. She lectures guests about it. All she does is ask me to stop smoking and drops the subject. She never could speak against me."

"Why not?" Himiko asked, finding herself interested. These sisters were all pretty weird, but so far Kozeniko seemed to be the most stable of the bunch, and the one most likely to give her information.

"Because I'm her older sister," was the simple reply. She took the pool skimmer out of the water and checked the temperature. "There. That should do it."

Himiko looked at the water. "You five really are sisters?"

Kozeniko shook her head and dropped her cigarette, stepping it out. "Just me and Kusakiko. I was always more like her mother, though. Our parents never liked her very much, which was part of the reason we left home. Bet they were some pissed off, too. I was the oldest and the only one trained in the family technique."

"Family technique?"

Kozeniko held up her left hand. A gold coin shined between her index and middle fingers, engraved on both sides though Himiko couldn't read it from where she was sitting. Kozeniko flipped her hand back, and the coin fell down to her knuckles. With another snap of her wrist it was standing upright, and she rolled it back and forth over her knuckles before making it disappear with a flourish of her hand.

"That's not really the technique," Kozeniko explained. "But I am trained in a kind of fighting style that uses coins. It's supposed to be taught only to left-handed males. My father was the last male to learn it, though. After my last sister was born- I really do have four younger sisters- my mother couldn't have any more children. I was the oldest and I was left-handed, so my father cut off my hair, told me to be a boy, and then started training me."

Well, that solved one mystery. Himiko was still curious, though. "So you just let him raise you as a boy?"

Kozeniko shrugged. "It was bound to happen, anyway. I was always a tomboy. I didn't much like how he pushed around Kusakiko, though. She was weird, but she was a pretty good person. She's the one who is waiting on you so you probably know what I mean."

Himiko wasn't sure if she could agree with this woman or not. Sure, she had admitted that Kusakiko was peculiar, but she also seemed to be highly protective of her. "She's....different," she finally said, more out of fear of what incurring this woman's wrath might cause than to be polite.

"Go ahead. You can say it. She's completely nuts," Kozeniko encouraged. "Don't get me wrong. She's a good person and a great doctor, but she's never played with a full deck, if you get my meaning. Has she asked you about your love interests yet?" When Himiko nodded, Kozeniko sighed and lit another cigarette. "Figures. She's obsessed with lovers, and she has the stupidest reason. When she was about eight we went to a carnival and they had a fortune teller there. She was obviously a fake, mostly because I heard her talking about how she couldn't wait to quit her job while she was on her smoke break later, but she told Kusakiko that lovers would set her free. It made no sense then, it makes no sense now, but it just snapped something in her head and she's been all but stalking anyone who happen to be lovers or have had lovers or want lovers since then." Kozeniko looked at Himiko, who was giving her a peculiar look. She shrugged and took another drag off of her cigarette. "She hasn't even been with a man since college, though, so I think most of it is just her living vicariously through our guests. She was a romantic even before then. But still, she can creep some people out. Just remember she's pretty much harmless. She does a hell of a lot more help than harm."

Himiko stood up to test the water with her foot. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear any more. The sisters all made her feel uneasy as it was without confirmation that at least one of them was completely unstable. The one that was supposed to serve her, no less.

"That's a cute bathing suit, by the way," Kozeniko noted, taking a last drag off of her cigarette before throwing it down and stepping it out like her last one. "I never swim, even though one of my little jobs as manager is pool maintenance. But you carry that look well. Your roommate....is a bit much, if you get my meaning."

Himiko ignored the strange and random comment about her attire and laughed at the joke about Hevn. "She is a bit on the flashy side," she confirmed, purposely downplaying what she really thought about Hevn. She didn't hate her, exactly. She did find her employment, after all. She just couldn't stand to be alone in the same room as her for more than five minutes.

"Yeah, but you....you don't like to show off, do you?" Kozeniko continued, her voice suddenly getting husky. She stepped closer to Himiko. "Don't you think you try a little too hard to downplay how attractive you are?"

"Wh-what?" Himiko asked, instinctively reaching for her perfumes and remembering she'd left them with her clothes.

Kozeniko reached out and ran a finger down her cheek, down her neck, trying to go lower...

Himiko batted her hand away. "Stop that. I'm warning you-" she was cut off as she got into a battle stance.

"You're still pretty young, aren't you?" Kozeniko asked suddenly. "Figures. Such a pretty little thing, too. You've never been curious?"

"If you don't get away from me-"

"Fine, fine, I'm going," Kozeniko said, holding up her hands in a gesture of surrender. "But....just think about it. If you change your mind, just give me a holler." She winked, then turned and walked back into the main portion of the hotel through a door marked "Employees Only".

Himiko blinked twice, wondering what had just happened. She'd never been hit on by a woman before, let alone a woman who had to be at least twice her age. She looked down at her swimsuit, then picked up her towel and covered herself. She suddenly didn't want to swim any more.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was almost dark out before Ginji finally made his way back to the room he was sharing with Ban, throwing himself down onto his bed. Ban, who had been smoking a cigarette, threw it in the toilet and flushed it before coming out to meet his partner.

"Where have you been all night?" he asked, more out of curiosity than anger.

"With Kaneko-chan," Ginji said weakly. "She doesn't wear out very easily. I'm so tired."

Ban looked at the clock. "It's only eight thirty."

Ginji nodded, pulling the blanket up over him. The TV was on, but it had been muted so Ban could listen for people in the hall. "It's lights out at nine," Ginji informed Ban.

Ban raised an eyebrow. "Who said?"

"Kaneko-chan and Kusakiko-chan. Just in the halls, though. But the lights have to be off in our rooms if we're going to open the doors."

"Why?" Ban asked, confused by this rule.

Ginji shrugged. "Their boss doesn't like light. They don't even have lights in the Employees Only rooms. I guess he comes out at night."

Ban, who had just sat on his own bed, looked over at Ginji upon hearing this. He'd heard very little about the employer of the sisters, and the knowledge that he came out after dark interested him. "Which room is his room, anyway?"

There was no answer from Ginji.

"Ginji, which room is he in?"

Again, no answer. This time, Ban picked up one of the pillows on his bed and threw it at Ginji.

"Hey, what was that for?" Ginji cried out, taking the pillow and putting it on top of his own.

"Answer me. Do you know which room their employer is in?"

Ginji shook his head, then seemed to be deep in thought. "On the other side of the hotel, at the end of the hall, there's a room Kaneko-chan won't go in. We saw Kusakiko-chan coming in and out of there a few times."

"Did Kaneko say anything about that being her boss's room?"

Once again, Ginji was lost to his slumber. Ban picked up his other pillow and prepared to heave it at Ginji, but changed his mind. Chances were that Ginji didn't know anything more than what he had just told him, therefore waking him up would be a waste of time. Resigning to this fact, he laid back on the bed, lighting another cigarette. A mysterious employer that only came out at night. Far more Employees Only rooms than what one of the sisters (he couldn't remember which) had detailed for him when he'd asked. And supposedly they were always being watched, although he had yet to find a camera in any room, and he had searched thoroughly. Once he'd caught Kadsuki trying to slip a string under one of the Employees Only doors, only to see the door open to reveal a very unamused Kozeniko, who asked if she could help them before noticing Kadsuki was holding something. Knowing he was caught, he retracted the string. Ban wondered how many other doors he had tried this with, and with what results.

As if he wasn't worried enough about having to search the sea for a manuscript, he now had a hotel of crazy sisters to contend with...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Akabane was standing alone in the dining room. All of the lights had been long since shut off, but despite this fact he always seemed to be caught by the rather troublesome and ever-present Kuroko whenever he tried to open a door marked "Employees Only". Never the less, he was always up for a challenge.

He had found that during the day the best way to get rid of the cold girl was to stay around other people, so he had taken to following Himiko, whether she knew it or not. When he'd heard Himiko asking Kusakiko where the library was, he'd made his way there first. When he'd seen her stepping out to the pool, he had been in the shadows on the other side of the courtyard. It was only when she retreated to her room that he was forced to find somewhere else to hide himself. He wished now he had requested a room, but he'd thought getting to explore every inch of this place would be far less of a challenge.

"Do you need any help, sir?" a low voice said from the general vicinity of the kitchen. If Akabane was startled, he managed to hide it well.

"I'm fine," he said with a smile, when in actuality he was getting ready to give Kuroko the old "J" treatment and end his pain. If he thought it would accomplish anything, he probably would have.

"It is not too late for me to find you a room. I am sure your employer will be willing to cover it, and we do have a vacancy."

Akabane thought about this for a minute. He was about to decline the offer when an idea struck him. "Actually, I am interested in one room..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kadsuki yawned as he curled up against Jubei, feeling exhausted. Jubei immediately wrapped an arm around Kadsuki, holding him against him. Most of his hair, which he hadn't bothered to tie back up after the incident at the baths, was now draped over them both, making Jubei feel a bit itchy. But he didn't make any attempt to remove it, deciding it could be ignored.

"Should we have done that here?" Kadsuki asked softly, his voice sounding faraway as he teetered on the edge of sleep.

"I don't think we are being watched. Midou's been searching every room for cameras and has come up empty, and he told me he was familiar with bugs and where and how they are usually placed. Besides, they're women. Even if they want to spy on us, they'd know better to look away when someone's doing....that."

Kadsuki smiled. "We don't know that. They're all pretty....different."

"Fine. Let them get an eyeful, then."

Meanwhile, in the "Employees Only" room at the end of the hall, Kusakiko was staring at the screen that displayed what was going on in room two, the room Kadsuki and Jubei were in. She could hear their conversation and felt a bit insulted by it, but didn't object. The sounds of a tape being copied and the conversation in the room were the only things she could hear right now.

"Kusakiko," a voice said suddenly. Kusakiko jumped and whirled around before realizing it was coming from her left earring.

"Yes, Amaya-san?" she asked seemingly no one. Through her left earring she could hear whatever Amaya said. In her right her sisters could communicate with her. This was helpful as only one was ever watching the monitors.

"I don't think they all trust you."

"Is that bad?"

"We need them to become paranoid. If they are paranoid and if they trust you, then they'll be easier to manipulate." There was a long break in the connection, which Kusakiko was sure he was using to have a coughing fit. The connection flickered to life again. "The one called Midou Ban said they are leaving tomorrow to go to the bay. We need to distract them before they can. Tell your sisters that after-" He didn't have time to sever the connection this time, as he coughed long and loudly into the mouthpiece of his own communication device. When he stopped Kusakiko could hear him making a wet crackling noise as he breathed. "After breakfast we are going through with the plan, with a slight change."

Kusakiko knew better than to make him talk more than he had to, but she had to know. "What change?"

"Midou Ban will be sent to me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ban had a rather rude awakening the next morning, as Ginji shook him awake at seven AM. "What the hell...?" he muttered, grabbing his pillow and attempting to fight Ginji off with it. "Go away. I'm sleeping."

"Kaneko-chan said it's time to wake up," Ginji said firmly.

"Tell Kaneko she can go-"

"Ban-chan!"

"I was going to say away! Honest!"

Ginji sat down on the edge of the bed, making it clear he wouldn't move unless Ban got up. "Kaneko-chan said it's a rule. And breakfast is ready. And didn't you say you wanted to get out early to look for the manuscript?"

Ban finally sat up, grabbing his sunglasses off the nightstand. "I didn't ask for a wake-up call..." he muttered, putting them on and retreating to the bathroom. He was going to have to hurt Hevn later for making them stay here. As he opened the door that lead to the hallway, both he and Ginji froze. Akabane was standing in front of the door across the hall.

"Good morning," he said simply, smiling at them in that infuriating way he always smiled.

Ban chose to ignore him and walked toward the dining room, Ginji casting Akabane one last nervous look before following Ban, checking every few seconds behind him to make sure Akabane wasn't about to try anything.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

No one seemed exactly thrilled as they all sat around the dining room table. In fact, very few of them seemed to be awake. Only Ginji, Shido, and Akabane were wide awake, and it was arguable that Akabane ever slept. Jubei was falling over into his miso soup, Kadsuki was sitting next to him, muttering things under his breath and once again not seeming to register where he was or why. Himiko was slumped tiredly over the table, her food pushed out of the way, occasionally giving angry glares at Hevn, whose face kept falling forward before the threat of suffocation caused her to jerk her head back up. Emishi appeared to be sitting bolt upright, but as Ban walked by him to his seat he fell onto the floor with a resounding _thud_ and didn't get back up. Shido looked down onto the floor, tapped Emishi lightly with his foot, and then began to eat his breakfast. Ban managed to keep his eyes open, but every time he tried to pick anything up with his chopsticks he seemed to miss.

"Oh, come on. You act like you've never been up at seven before," Kozeniko said angrily. "Up. Get up. Eat. You'll miss the whole day." She put a hand on Himiko's back, causing her to sit bolt upright and glare at Kozeniko angrily. No one seemed to notice this little exchange. No one, that is, except Akabane. But when he smiled knowingly it was really no different from any other time he smiled.

"Check out time better be ridiculously early," Ban all but growled, finally managing to pick up a piece of egg only to be so stunned by this accomplishment he dropped it again.

"I am afraid seven AM wake-up calls are a rule here," Kusakiko explained. "It makes things easier on me, as I am the only cook here and I have work elsewhere as well."

"I'd like to complain to the manager," Kadsuki finally said, the first coherent thing he'd said since he first arrived in the dining room.

"I'm the manager," Kozeniko told him, leaning forward on the table (right next to Himiko, making her cringe back in disgust). "Complain away."

"Fine. I want to see your boss," Kadsuki demanded, not intimidated in the least.

Kozeniko straightened up. "You can't," she said simply but firmly. "I'm the manager. If you have a complaint for him, you speak through me. If you don't want to lodge a complaint with me then it must not be that important."

There was a tense moment as the pair just glared at each other, everyone waiting to see if they would lash out at each other. Finally, Kadsuki put his head down and began to pick at his food. A few people audibly let out their breath, which they had been holding.

"Don't we get to meet this elusive boss of yours before we go?" Hevn asked. "I should at least get to. I made the arrangements to stay here and everything."

Emishi had finally climbed back to the table and was now eating with gusto. "Yeah, what gives?"

Kikaiko readjusted her glasses and glared at Emishi. "Our employer does not wish to be bothered."

"He's ill," Kusakiko added, giving Kikaiko a sharp look.

"That's sad," Ginji said around a mouthful of food.

However, as Ban finished his meal he couldn't help but think about this mysterious employer....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Amaya smiled as he watched the monitor of the actions in the dining room. Everything was on schedule. As he coughed hard into a tissue, he couldn't help but feel better. Lighter. With this favor, his debt would be repaid. He would be able to live his final days in peace with his girls.

"One hour," he choked out. On the monitor, all five girls nodded. He couldn't help but notice the uneasy expressions on Kusakiko and Kaneko's faces, however. Well, that was unsettling. Before he could reassure the girls another coughing fit came up on him, so hard it knocked him back into his chair. As unsettling as the actions on the monitor were, they would have to wait.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Breakfast was over by eight. The sisters had requested that they stay put as they cleared away the dishes, something most of them did obligingly as they weren't awake enough to want to move. After the dishes were cleared the sisters remained in the kitchen for a very long time.

"What do you think they're doing?" Ginji whispered to Ban.

Ban gave the door a troubled look. "Not much. I can't hear anything coming from in there. It's usually noisy."

Kadsuki stood up and detached his bell, getting read to put a string under the door when it suddenly burst open, nearly hitting Kadsuki in the face, He quickly reattached his bell and pretended he had been pacing, though from the glare he got from Kozeniko they didn't buy it.

"Come on, Ginji-kun!" Kaneko said excitedly, grabbing Ginji's hand and leading him out of the room.

Kusakiko gave Kozeniko a pleading look, but she just nodded, causing Kusakiko to sigh. "Hevn-san, Kudo-san, if you would please...?"

The two women looked at each other before hesitantly standing and following the green-haired women from the and out of the room.

"Where are they going?" Ban demanded, standing up.

"None of your business," Kozeniko said, pushing him back down into his seat.

Kadsuki stood up this time. "Answer him," he said in a warning tone.

Kozeniko narrowed her eyes. "You want to know so badly? Fine, come with me. And bring the blind guy with you," she ordered, pushing open the door that lead to the hallway. Kadsuki hesitated before standing, Jubei following him as he heard his bells leaving the room.

Ban looked at the remaining two girls. "What do you have to say for yourselves?" he demanded.

Emishi stood up this time. "Come on, Etsu-er, Kikaiko. You can tell me."

Kikaiko's eyes briefly narrowed, before she nodded slowly. "I can show you," she said slowly. "You and him." She pointed at Shido.

"Why him?" Emishi asked.

"If you want to know you will both come with me," she said simply. Emishi almost knocked his chair over hurrying to follow her. Shido looked like he didn't want to follow, but did anyway.

Now only Ban, Akabane, and Kuroko were in the room. Ban was about to open his mouth to speak again when Akabane cut him off.

"I suppose you want me to go with you," he said coolly. When Kuroko nodded he laughed softly. "This should be fun."

And suddenly Ban was alone. And he couldn't take it any longer. He pushed the door open and looked for them...but there was no sign of anyone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They all followed each of the sisters to doors marked "Employees Only". They had known this was a bad sign. They had known they were probably going to be in trouble. And yet they still followed, and almost simultaneously the sisters all pushed open the doors to their respective rooms, leading whoever was behind them into the darkness beyond, the doors locking with audible clicking noises behind them.

Kadsuki and Jubei now stood in a room that was pitch black. several lamps suspended from the ceiling suddenly turned on to reveal several display cases filled with coins. Kozeniko stood in the center of the room, and as she spread all of her fingers gold coins glittered between each of them.

In the next room Hevn and Himiko gasped as the sunlamps in the room they were standing in switched on one by one. The room looked like a jungle, the walls covered in thick vines and leaves, some sprouting large, colorful flowers. Only the floor was bare concrete. Standing in the center of the room, Kusakiko looked up at them with sad eyes and whispered "I'm sorry."

In the next room several candles suddenly lit themselves. Akabane smiled as he took in the scene. It looked like a funeral, a casket laying surrounded by candles at the head of the room, before a statue of Buddha. Flowers surrounded the casket, and standing in front of it was Kuroko, who reached up to move the hair from her eyes...

In the next room, Emishi already had his whip in his hand as the lamps above several lidless glass tanks switched on. Inside each of the tanks were large, unpleasant looking insects, crawling all over each other, clicking and buzzing and hissing. Kikaiko stood in the center of the center of the room, her eyes hidden as the light shined sinisterly off of her glasses.

And in the final room fluorescent lights switched on to reveal a solid metal room. The floor, the ceiling, and the walls were all pure steel. And the room was completely empty except for the lone figure of Kaneko standing in the center of the room, smiling in a way that made Ginji back up against the door, trying to open it to find it was locked.

"What's the matter, Ginji-kun? Don't you like my room?" she asked him sweetly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ban ran through the hotel, trying to open every door he saw. All of them, even the doors that weren't marked "Employees Only", were locked. The only one he had found that opened so far lead to a darkened hall, and as he tried all of the doors he finally reached one at the very end of the hall, marked "Employees Only". The knob turned smoothly, and opened. He threw it open and ran into the room, immediately overtaken by it's sterile smell and how dark it was. Only a wall of black and white monitors illuminated the room, and in front of the monitors was a desk with several gadgets and a box of tissues. Sitting at the desk was a dark figure in a chair, who didn't turn to face him. Only spoke in a hoarse voice, barely above a whisper, his breath wet and rasping.

"Greetings....Midou Ban."

**End of Chapter Three**

Quick Notes on Certain Scenes:

1.) I did the Jubei and Kadsuki in bed one as a favor to someone. It was going to be long, but I decided to make it segue into something else. If I didn't owe this person a lot I would have cut it out entirely.

2.) The pool scene might be a bit gratuitous, but I did it to be funny.

3.) The breakfast scene is because I have a trademark of always showing which characters are morning people and which aren't.

4.) While I would _hope_ everyone would get the joke of Akabane reading a book on Jack the Ripper, there are some who don't. Akabane was very obviously based on Jack the Ripper. Hell, it's likely he _is_ Jack the Ripper. Observe:

Jack the Ripper: Was believed to have been a medical doctor (surgeon, actually).

Akabane: His nickname is "Dr. JACKel".

Jack the Ripper: Dissected his victims (while they were still alive, albeit drugged) with scalpels.

Akabane: Weapons of choice are scalpels.

Jack the Ripper: Was never caught. Someone believed to have been him died in Britain, but modern science has since proven he was not Jack the Ripper.

Akabane: Nothing is known of his past, including his age.

*Cue Goo's Stupidity*

Next Chapter of Get Backers: "Get Backers vs. the Goshoku Sisters". Look forward to it!

Any similarity between anyone living or dead is purely coincidental unless other wise noted.


	4. Get Backers vs the Goshoku Sisters

Goo's Notes- Um.... besides that this is the last Goshoku chapter, no notes today! *Does a little jig, hoping to distract from the fact she hardly remembers any of the characters' attack names and she sucks at writing battles.*

Wilhelm's Manuscript

Chapter Four: Get Backers vs. the Goshoku Sisters

By A Girl Named Goo

Ban looked around the dark, sterile room. It smelled heavily of cleaner and medicine, and besides the sounds coming from one monitor he could hear the clicking and whirring of various equipment. The man who had greeted him had now lapsed into a severe coughing fit, and after he threw away the tissues in his hand he grabbed an oxygen mask.

"What's going on here?!" Ban snapped, the shock of the sudden coughing fit having worn off.

The man wheezed into the mask before removing it from his face, his voice sounding like it belonged to a very old man on his deathbed. "Your friends.... will not be harmed....," he reassured. He had a shorter coughing fit, this time just barely reaching the tissues in time. When this coughing fit had passed he said the next sentence all in one breath to keep from interrupting it with coughing or wheezing. "I am repaying a debt."

The man's eyes remained fixed on the monitors. Ban remained standing in one spot for a long time, waiting for the man to speak again. Finally, he gasped out "Come and....watch. It's.... not contagious." Ban swallowed and walked over to the wall of monitors, hoping to find any answers. His eyes immediately fixed on one, where Ginji was trying to open a door, Kaneko slowly approaching him. The monitor was black and white, and obviously had some sort of night vision on.

"Who are you?" Ban asked, looking down at the man in the black desk chair, who had slowly wheeled himself into the darkness of the other side of the room when he had approached the monitors.

"Professor Amaya.... Hajime," he said slowly, coughing hard into some tissues again. He slowly wheeled himself closer to the monitors now that Ban had chosen a spot. Ban had to admit he was surprised by what he saw. He had expected an old man, from the sound of his voice and poor health. Instead, in the chair, sat a man who couldn't even have been thirty yet. His hair was slightly wavy, but stringy from sweat and lack of care. His eyes were silvery grey and bloodshot, and his face was gaunt and skeletal. He wore a simple black kimono that was slipping off his thin shoulder. On and around his lips were flecks of blood from his coughing. He was so shrunken and frail Ban had to wonder how he could still be alive at that moment. He paused to cough into his tissues again, wiping the blood off of his mouth afterwards. "I own this.... establishment," he choked out. "Enjoy...the show."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kadsuki glared at Kozeniko, holding his bells between his fingers in a way similar to the way she was holding her coins. Jubei had also drawn his needles in preparation for the fight.

"The Damakei Coin Technique," Kadsuki said, almost contemptuously, looking at the coins Kozeniko was holding. "No one has learned that style in fifteen years. No one has used it since the Damakei patriarch died five years ago."

Kozeniko laughed bitterly. "So my father finally died? Good." As Kadsuki raised his eyebrows at this remark Kozeniko continued her mirthless laughter. "Hmm....this should be interesting. How well can the Damakei Coin Technique fair against the Fuchoin String Technique and Kakei Needle Technique at the same time?"

"Why are you doing this?" Kadsuki asked. "What did we ever do to you?"

Kozeniko suddenly stopped laughing, her golden eyes narrowed. "I don't like you," she said simply. "Either one of you. You're nosy, you extorted information from my sister, and you don't like to leave the past where it belongs: in the past."

"Your sister could have chosen not to talk to us," Jubei pointed out.

Kozeniko's grip on her coins tightened. Suddenly, she held up her left hand and flicked her wrist. The four coins she had been holding sailed toward Kadsuki and Jubei, spinning wildly. They barely had time to register what she had done, and as Kadsuki used two strings to knock the two heading toward him out of the air, Jubei managed to deflect one with a needle. The other was about to hit his shoulder, but Kadsuki stopped it with his string. Kadsuki turned to glare at her. She already had more coins between her fingers, poised to release them...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Sorry? Sorry for what?!" Hevn cried out. Kusakiko sighed and lifted her arm from her side, slowly, up to her shoulder. Vines had begun to shoot out of the walls. Hevn stepped on one of them, but another wrapped tightly around her. Himiko saw this, quickly reached for her disintegration scent, and released it on the source of the vine holding Hevn, causing it to fall limply to the floor. Spinning around, she gave the one coming up to get her the same treatment.

Kusakiko dropped her hand, tears shining in her eyes. "I am not a fighter. I am not even a healer. What good is a doctor that cannot cure?"

Himiko looked at her oddly. "What are you talking about?"

Kusakiko swallowed. "I was the Miracle Worker. I could save anyone. And when that little girl was brought to me... I tried everything, I really did! But.... she was gone. I wasn't a healer. I was a fraud."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hevn cried. Another pair of vines grabbed her wrists and pulled her against the wall. Himiko raised her perfume again to have it struck from her grasp. The bottle rolled just out of reach, but when Himiko dove for it the cement in the floor burst, and a large, angry-looking carnivorous flower sprouted in front of the bottle. She shrunk back from it.

"No one wanted someone who could do this," Kusakiko continued, her voice sad and detached. "I ruined my older sister's life by making her leave out family with me. And for what? So she could protect a freak like me? A freak who can't help anyone?"

Himiko dodged another vine and grabbed her flame scent, inhaling it and blowing fire at the vine. It immediately shriveled up. She applied this same treatment to two more vines, but when she tried it on the carnivorous flower it just recoiled a bit, then began to snap at her.

"I won't fail this time!" Kusakiko shouted. Suddenly, several pods that had been blending in with the vegetation on the wall burst open, revealing several different coloured flowers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ban looked back at Amaya, cracking his knuckles. The man in the chair didn't even flinch. "You didn't answer my question! What's going on here?!"

Amaya paused for a coughing fit before he spoke, blood still trailing from his mouth. "I owe.... Jakob Grimm... a favor. He told me.... to find.... the negotiator-" another coughing fit. "Of the Get Backers. He would.... tell her.... about.... this place. I would.... handle.... the rest."

"He told her about this place?! Hevn met Jakob?!" Ban cried out.

Amaya shook his head slowly. "Not that.... she knows." He collapsed into coughing again, and Ban turned back to the monitors.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Akabane smiled as he looked into Kuroko's eyes. They were entirely black. No irises, no whites. He might of been unnerved, had it not confirmed his suspicion of the girl that he had had the entire time he had been at the hotel.

"Tell me, Kuroko-san, how long have you been dead?" he asked simply.

Kuroko didn't seem too surprised that he knew this. She answered coldly, evenly, "almost ten years."

Akabane nodded. "And how did you die?"

"I killed myself."

"The souls of suicides do not rest. Why did you take your own life?"

Kuroko lowered her eyes again. "Love."

Akabane raised an eyebrow, his smile not wavering. "Love?"

"I was forbidden from seeing the boy that I loved most. We were to die together. After I started, he panicked and ran. He told everyone that I had been attacked. I couldn't rest. I had been betrayed, my cause of death was a lie, and I had taken my own life."

Akabane nodded slowly. "And so in the end you died for nothing."

Kuroko didn't move. She simply said, slowly, "Can you lay me to rest?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Nice room, Etsu- er, Kikaiko-chan," Emishi noted sarcastically, looking at the tanks of insects. Shido looked at him for a moment, and then back at Kikaiko. The edge of her mouth was twitching slightly in anger.

"All you had to do was apologize," she said quietly. "You never tried. You told me to lighten up, that I had to forgive you, that it was long ago, but you never apologized! You never admitted you were wrong!" The glare off her glasses vanished. The look on her face was one of pure rage. "I trusted you!"

She opened her mouth, but kept her teeth tightly clenched. A loud buzzing noise filled the room, and all of the tanks fell over, the insects held within them scrambling out and climbing down the tables the tanks had been on, onto the floor and toward Shido and Emishi.

"Do something," Emishi hissed into Shido's ear. He tried to whip the insects, but they parted just as it was about to strike.

"Do what?" Shido asked back. He kicked off a hissing cockroach that had climbed onto his boot, but more began to climb up his other.

"Anything! You're the Beast Master!"

"These are insects. I have no power over them."

Emishi looked at Shido, who was allowing the insects to crawl up his legs, and then back at Kikaiko. He suddenly leapt from the insects that were trying to crawl up his legs toward her. The buzzing stopped as the whip struck her arm, and the insects began to wander around aimlessly, some changing their course and leaving Shido alone.

"You should not have done that," Kikaiko said through clenched teeth.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Kaneko-chan, please open the door!" Ginji begged her, trying to get it open. He suddenly had a very bad feeling about being alone in a room with her, and he didn't want to find out the reason for it.

A pouty look appeared on Kaneko's face. "Why, Ginji-kun? I thought we were friends. I just wanted to show you my room." Kaneko looked into Ginji's eyes, smiling sweetly. "Why are you afraid of me? Is it how I look?" Her voice suddenly got lower. "Or is it because I can do THIS!" Ginji narrowly missed her hand, which collided with the metal where he had been standing. When she drew it back he realized in horror that the metal was now flattened in the shape of her hand.

"Iron grip," she said softly, smiling. Ginji looked at the handprint. If she wasn't as strong as Ban, she had to be close. He turned around quickly, just in time to her hand heading toward his neck.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ban looked angrily between the monitor and Amaya, who was holding his blood-spattered mask to his mouth again. "What is she?!"

Amaya lowered his mask. To Ban's surprise, he was smiling. "She is.... a miracle," he said simply, coughing hard into the wad of tissue in his hand.

"A miracle?" Ban asked, staring at him like he was insane.

Amaya nodded slowly. "She is.... free from all....pain. Free from all-" he coughed again. "All illness.... Free from.... death. She.... is.... perfection. Youth.... life.... and yet, emotion.... and feeling..."

Ban looked at the screen again. Kaneko had her hand flat on Ginji's chest, pressing him against the wall.

"What did you do to her?!" he demanded, glaring at Amaya.

Amaya took several deep breaths of the purified air in his mask before he spoke. "When I.... first got.... sick. I need.... a cure. She was.... a runaway. She needed.... a home. So I took-" he coughed hard into the tissues and discarded them, grabbing another handful. "I took her... here, and changed.... all of her cells. Permeated... them with.... metal. Indescribable. Ageless."

Ban turned around and leaned over Amaya's chair. "She's a _machine_!"

Amaya continued to cough into his mask before speaking. "She.... is what...medicine was created.... for. I have.... found the secret...of life. And youth." He coughed again, this time into his tissues. "It's.... a secret that.... shall go to the.... grave with me. If you wish."

Ban backed away from him. "What do you mean, 'if I wish'?"

Amaya gestured at the monitors. "All of this. My.... girls. My debt. They mean.... nothing. I will...be dead soon. With Kusakiko-" He coughed into the tissues. "Kusakiko prolonging.... my worthless life, I still.... have no more.... than a couple weeks. I'm.... suffering. It's-" He coughed again. "It's my...fault I am.... like this. I.... accept that. And....I don't wish.... to live anymore."

Ban already didn't like where he was going with this. He didn't want him to say those words. He had to distract him...

"How is this your fault?" he asked quickly.

Amaya attempted a hoarse laugh, which disintegrated into a coughing fit. "I...was a man of science. In... my lab we were....experimenting with....a rare virus. There...there was an accident. And then.... I was infected." He coughed into the tissues and reached for his mask, taking several deep breaths before he continued. "It's been.... eating me from the.... inside out. My skin...became unable to...handle any light.... but the filtered light...of my monitors. And my bones.... are collapsing." He coughed into the tissue harder now, and Ban could see it was now covered in blood. "Now.... my lungs are being...eaten by it. I.... can't breathe. It hurts.... to talk...and all-" He coughed hard again before his voice got shockingly loud, echoing in the mostly empty room. "All I do is cough!"

Ban looked at the screen where Ginji and Kaneko had been fighting, but the screen had gone blank. "Ginji!" he cried, running to the door and trying to pull it open. He began to pound on it with all of his strength, and while it was dented he couldn't budge it.

"Kaneko.... didn't like.... being in here...at first," Amaya explained. "You are.... stronger than she.... is. But I.... didn't know...how strong she...would be. So that.... that door. That wall. This whole room.... you'd need twice your.... strength to break out. A nuclear.... warhead couldn't.... destroy this place."

"Let me out!" Ban told him warningly.

"I have.... the switch to.... open it on my.... person. I will.... open it if...you will do one thing for me."

Ban knew what was coming next. "What? What do I have to do?"

Amaya coughed hard into a new wad of tissue. "Kill me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ginji was shoved against the wall with the force of being hit by a car. He could feel his ribs beginning to crack beneath Kaneko's hand. Realizing he had no choice he released all of the electricity he'd been building inside of him at her, filling the room with blinding flashes of light, destroying the camera. The hand moved off his chest, and Ginji was sure that it had worked...until he looked over at her.

She was standing perfectly still in front of him, her clothes burnt but otherwise unharmed. In fact, the electricity was still crackling through her body as she stared at him, her eyes sparking with the current. Her headband had shattered, causing ruby-like pieces to fall to the floor and cling to her silvery hair.

"Were you trying to hurt me, Ginji-kun?" she asked, genuine hurt tingeing her voice. She clenched her teeth and pulled her right hand into a fist. "That wasn't very nice!" she shouted, charging at him. Ginji narrowly dodged the punch, and Kaneko's fist buried itself into the metal wall, the electricity flowing through her body flowing out of her and into the wall as she did. The lights flickered off momentarily, and there was a loud clicking noise. But before anyone could register what that meant, the lights turned back on and another loud clicking followed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kadsuki blinked in the momentary darkness before he dodged another coin. He wanted to put up his string barrier, but Kozeniko wasn't giving him enough time. He looked over at her as the lights flickered back on, and she had released eight more at them. Jubei managed to pierce two with his needles, and as they clattered to the floor Kadsuki could see the needles were still piercing the gold coins. In this moment of distraction he felt one collide with his shoulder and roll over it, ripping his sleeve and cutting his shoulder open. He almost dropped his bells, and narrowly missed another.

Jubei had also taken some damage to his arm from two of the coins. He threw more needles at her, and again they pierced her coins. Kadsuki sent a string to her, which successfully wrapped around her wrist, but a stray coin broke the string. Realizing she was now unarmed, she reached over and broke one of the cases of coins with her bare fist, reaching in for the coins the case contained. Kadsuki saw his chance and released more strings toward her, just as she had released two handfuls of coins. Their attacks both connected, Kozeniko landing on the floor wrapped in a tight string cocoon, Jubei and Kadsuki both sinking to the floor as the coins embedded themselves into their legs.

Kozeniko looked over at them contemptuously. "It doesn't matter," she said, struggling slightly against her string prison. "I was only supposed to distract you, not kill you." She laughed, a dry, harsh sound. "You're not going anywhere until my boss says you are."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Emishi took a step back, not liking the sound of Kikaiko's voice one bit. She held up both of her hands, and her fingernails began to grow very long. "Bee sting!" she cried out, and the long fingernails shot at Emishi. He deflected them with his whip, but realized at the last minute he had just landed in a group of retreating insects. The buzzing noise filled the room again, and they all changed their course and began to scurry up his legs.

Suddenly, Kikaiko was knocked to the ground, the buzzing noise stopping again. Her shirt and vest had four long gashed across the front of them, and her glasses had been cast askew. She quickly reached up and adjusted them, looking at Shido, who had a feral look on his face. Slowly getting back to her feet, the buzzing noise began again. This time, however, all of the insects crawled away from Emishi, this time making their way toward her. Shido's beast transformation faded as he watched them all crawling up her legs. She didn't even flinch as they climbed higher and higher, until she was completely covered with insects. Only her glasses were insect-free, protecting her eyes as she glared at the two men, daring them to attack.

"That's not good," Emishi assessed.

Shido had changed again. He made rapid slashing movements at Kikaiko, only to slash through the insects as he connected. More covered the place in her arm that had been shed. Emishi aimed at her and managed to connect with her legs, causing her to fall to the floor, the insects scurrying away to avoid their demise just in time. The buzzing stopping, and the insects fled from her body, leaving her on her knees on the floor.

"Had enough?" Emishi asked her, a self-satisfied smile appearing on his face.

Kikaiko looked up at him, a smile also on her face. She let out one humorless laugh. Then the room filled with a loud buzzing, joined by still more buzzing sounds. Emishi lunged at Kikaiko again, but missed as an insect flew toward him and stung him in the shoulder. He glanced upward and saw a large swarm of angry-looking red wasps above them. Kikaiko raised her hand, and several flew toward Emishi and Shido. The swarm, after each one took their turn stinging them, flew back into the back of the room.

"Now I've had enough," Kikaiko said. She began to pace around their forms, which had sunk helplessly to the floor. "Their venom isn't toxic. At least, not enough to kill you. It took a lot just to paralyze you like this. It'll wear off in a few hours." She suddenly took a bottle out of her vest pocket and threw it so it was just out of Shido's reach. "That's the antidote. When it starts to wear off, take that and you'll feel fine. Kusakiko prepared it. You'll have to thank her."

"Say it," Shido hissed softly to Emishi.

"Say what?" Emishi choked out, trying to move and finding himself unable to.

"This is all your fault."

Emishi looked at Kikaiko, who had started to walk to the unlit back of the room. "I'm sorry," he forced through clenched teeth.

Kikaiko froze in her steps. "What?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," Emishi repeated. He mustered up all of the strength he could and shouted, "I'm sorry!"

Kikaiko fell to her knees.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What?" Ban said softly, facing the small figure of Amaya.

"Kill me," he repeated. "I will let.... your friends go...if you will promise to kill me."

With a flash, an image of Yamato on the floor, in pain, demanding that Ban end his life for him...

Ban shook his head, trying to clear the image from his mind. "The power already went out once. It won't be long."

Amaya smiled softly. "There...hasn't been...any more power...surges. You don't.... know what.... your friend is doing.... right now," he pointed out. "You are.... a nice enough man. Reasonable. I.... am suffering. You would.... be doing me.... a favor."

Ban glared angrily at Amaya. How dare he do this to him? To his friends? "No," Ban told him. "I won't kill you. They'll get out on their own."

Amaya laughed again, and again it dissolved into a coughing fit. "Do you...honestly want to...take that risk? My girls.... they are strong. Just say-" He coughed into the tissues. "Say it, Midou Ban. And....I will let them.... go."

Ban punched the door with all of his might. Another dent formed in it, but it again didn't move. "I won't kill you," he repeated firmly.

Amaya nodded. "Then your friends.... will die."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Akabane smiled to himself. "Put you to rest?"

Kuroko nodded. "You must know how. You knew I was dead. You know why I can't rest. End this. Please, end this."

Akabane pretended to think this over. "Why should I?" he asked finally. "Where is the fun of killing someone who wants to die? Who is already dead?"

"You must have some compassion!"

"What would you say if I told you I didn't know how to lay you to rest?"

Kuroko stepped toward him. "I don't believe you!"

"It's the truth."

"NO!"

Kuroko lunged at Akabane, blood suddenly smearing the front of her white kimono, streaming from her eyes, covering her hands...

Akabane dodged neatly and held up his scalpels. "You are being punished. I cannot interfere with that. However, you could still be fun."

Kuroko's dark eyes were now nothing but hollow sockets. The flesh on her face was sinking in, clinging to her skull. She screamed and lunged at Akabane again, more blood covering her as she did so. Akabane slashed her neatly with his scalpels, and her kimono fell off, revealing her skeletal frame, her flesh hanging off of her in strips. The candles flickered as she dove at him again. This time he allowed her to hit him and bounce back to the floor ineffectually. As she lay on the floor her skin and kimono became whole again. Kuroko got on her knees and stared at her hands. The only wounds that remained were the gashed down her arms, and she stared at them both, screaming into the dim room.

Akabane looked down at her, his smile gone. She collapsed into tears, whispering things like "end this" and "put me to rest".

"You aren't as interesting as I thought you would be," Akabane told her simply. With one sweep of his hand, he knocked over all of the candles and ignited the flowers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kusakiko had tears running down her face as the flowers bloomed around her. Hevn squirmed in her vine prison, try to get away from the ones closest to her. Himiko just stood in the center of the room, not daring to move toward any of the blooms. Kusakiko looked up and met her eyes.

"They were watching you," she explained, sniffing loudly. "If you use one of your scents, they'll emulate it. They're ready to counter your every physical attack. They all just want to protect me."

Himiko looked at the vines that were poised to grab her, at the blooms ready to return her scents, at the carnivorous flower that seemed to have sprouted companions. She finally looked up at Kusakiko, who was crying, waiting for the fight to finish.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Himiko demanded to know, stepping on a vine that had reached out to snake around her ankle.

"Because this is my home!" Kusakiko cried out. "If I want to keep living here I must do as I was told! I'm not free like you are!"

"Free from what?" Hevn asked. A vine snaked over and covered her mouth.

"Just hold still until it's over!" Kusakiko ordered Hevn sharply. She turned to Himiko. "I don't want to hurt you, but if you try to hurt me then I'll have to. My only instructions were to keep you here until I was told to let you go. If you...if you wait just a little while longer then everything will be okay and you can go whenever you like."

Himiko knew she had no choice. She was surrounded. Her primary weapons were useless, and physical attacks would be equally fruitless. She had no choice but to trust Kusakiko's words and stand perfectly still.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ginji rolled out of the way of another of Kaneko's punches, breathing heavily and staring at her. "Why, Kaneko-chan?" he asked her, not sure how long he could keep avoiding her.

"Because I have to!" she shouted, aiming at him again. He rolled out of the way onto the floor and she glared at him. "If you were my real friend you would understand that!"

"You don't have to!" Ginji insisted, jumping out of the way of a low punch. "No one can make you do this!"

Kaneko shook her head, putting her hands over her ears. "NO! I am not going back out there!"

Ginji pressed himself against the wall for stability. "Out where?" he asked, edging toward the door. If he could just distract her for a moment...

"I'm not like you!" she screamed. She was clearly crying, shaking her head as if it would make this all end. "What he did to me...I won't forgive him! He made me a monster! A machine! A freak! And now he wants me to be his slave!"

Instead of asking her who she meant, Ginji felt the doorknob and gripped it, firing all of his remaining electricity into it. The fluorescent lights burst, and with a loud click the door was unlocked. He threw the door open and ran toward the only room Kaneko wouldn't enter...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lights flickered off all over the hotel, and all of the doors opened. Jubei and Kadsuki rushed from the room they had been trapped in followed by Shido and Emishi (having been given the antidote after Emishi apologized). Seeing her opportunity, she used the flame scent on the vines restraining Hevn, grabbed her hand, and ran out the door, joining Kadsuki and Jubei who were following Ginji in the hall. Himiko looked behind her and noticed Akabane was behind them, walking briskly rather than running with them. Ginji pushed open the door at the end of the hall, which was pitch black, and Amaya looked up at them, Ban hovering over him, barely visible in the faint light from the electricity still crackling through Ginji's body.

"Who is this?!" Hevn all but screeched, looking at Amaya.

Amaya smiled faintly, his shock from the sight of the crowd having worn off. "Amaya Hajime," he gasped out. He coughed hard into his tissues. "Midou-san...here...was just about to.... finish my life."

Ban gave everyone an apologetic look, then pulled his hand back, ready to strike when...

"STOP IT!" a voice shouted from the back of the crowd, which promptly parted. The Goshoku Sisters ran into the room, lead by Kusakiko. Kozeniko was still pulling remnants of string off of her, Kuroko was carrying a candle, Kikaiko's vest was torn, and Kaneko was bringing up the rear, approaching slowly.

"I'm his doctor!" Kusakiko told Ban furiously. "I can't let you kill him! I can't because.... because as long as there's life then there's hope! I could find a cure! I just have to look! But he's not your patient! You can't let him die!"

Amaya looked at Kusakiko, eyes wide with shock and emotion. He looked back at Ban, who drew his hand back again and plunged it into his chest....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ban lit a cigarette as he looked down at Amaya, who had fallen to the floor. "Just one minute," he told him plainly. Amaya gasped and stared at Ban, then looked behind him. On one side of the room were the guests of his hotel. On the other were the Goshoku Sisters. None of them looked any worse for wear.

"Kusakiko-san was most informative," Kadsuki explained. "She told us what you planned to do with us right after breakfast. All of it. She brought us into the kitchen so that you couldn't see us on the cameras. She also told us she thought you were going to end your life. She didn't want you to die, so she all but begged us to help."

"I knew I had to get in here somehow," Ban continued. "So we agreed to make it look like we fell for your trap. That way you could also show Jakob the tapes of the fights and say you paid off your debt, which Kozeniko-san told us all about."

Ginji finished the story. "After Kaneko-chan returned my electricity to the wall the power went out, just like we planned. Then Ban-chan started using his jagan on you while we all made our way back here."

Kusakiko approached Amaya, helping him back into the chair. "Amaya-san, you can't die yet," she told him softly, tears in her eyes. "I don't want to just treat you anymore. I want to cure you."

Amaya was silent. He looked at Kusakiko, then the other sisters, then the Get Backers, and finally at Ban, who smiled and stepped out his cigarette. "So tell me: did you have a nice dream?"

Amaya nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes.... as a matter of fact.... I think I did."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Thank you so much," Kusakiko said, embracing Kadsuki suddenly. He barely had a chance to register what she had done before she released him. "Oh...and this belongs to you." She handed him a videotape. He blushed and quickly knelt down to put it in the bag by his feet.

"Sure going to miss having you all around," Kozeniko added, reaching out and pinching Himiko's rear. When she spun around and looked at her, her anger subsided as Kozeniko winked at her.

Kaneko jumped up onto Ginji, who fell over beneath her weight. "You'll have to come and visit again soon when you're not working!" she told him. Ginji, unable to breathe with the weight on his chest, just nodded.

The Get Backers and the Goshoku Sisters were all in the reception area of the hotel, saying their good-byes. At least, most of them were...

"Where'd Emishi go?" Shido asked suddenly, scanning the group.

Kozeniko also seemed to be doing a head count. "Kikaiko isn't here, either."

Ginji, finally free to stand up now that Kaneko was off him, looked around as well. "Hey.... isn't she....?"

Ban stepped on Ginji's foot, remembering how Kadsuki mentioned that three of the sisters had come from Mugenjyou but didn't want the other two to know. He cried out and turned to glare at Ban. "What did you do that for?"

"Wait until we're in the car."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So after all this time you're finally willing to admit you're wrong," Kikaiko said softly, looking at Emishi.

He shrugged and looked around the empty dining, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, well, ya know...I was just thinking about it.... and I guess it was my fault. I'm also sorry you got caught up in all of this mess."

Kikaiko sighed and looked down at her feet. "Maybe...it's better things worked out this way. I believe things happen for a reason sometimes. Just like you and me meeting here again."

Emishi nodded. "Maybe you should come with us. The pay's not great, but we're totally free and hey, we always were a great team. Shinjuku won't know what hit it!"

"I can't come with you," Kikaiko explained. "My place is here with my sisters." She suddenly smiled at him. "But you're right: we were definitely something." She kissed him on the cheek and then pushed open the door to the reception area. Emishi was frozen for a few moments, before turning and following her.

"Shido-kun! She smiled! I won the bet!" Emishi cried out. "See? She-" He looked at Kikaiko, whose face was frozen in its cold expression again.

"I didn't see it so it doesn't count," Shido told him briskly.

"But...but she was smiling in there! Tell him, Kikaiko-chan! Tell him!" Emishi cried, looking at Kikaiko. She looked at him like he was crazy.

Hevn's cell phone rang, and everyone went quiet as she reached into her cleavage and pulled it out, flipping it open. "Moshi moshi," she said. She was quiet for a long time, her face growing steadily grimmer as she listened. "All right. I understand. I'll tell them." She closed her phone and put it back in her "storage compartment". "Jakob Grimm salvaged the manuscript while we were busy here this morning," she announced. "But Wilhelm's men intercepted it afterwards. Now it's in Wilhelm's mansion. On the other side of the city."

Everyone was quiet for a long time, as if processing this news. Finally, Ban heaved a huge sigh. "Well, then I guess we'd better get going."

After another round of exchanged good-byes. As Ban was about to step out (being at the rear of the crowd), Kusakiko put a hand on his shoulder. "Midou-san, I usually give this to all the guests who stay here, but we've been too busy lately to make more than one," she explained, putting something in his hand. "It's very special. I'm the only person who can grow the kind of herb used for it." As Ban walked out into the brutal summer sun he looked down at the object in his hand: a pale green bar of soap.

Everyone began to head to their respective modes of transportation; Hevn, Kadsuki, and Jubei climbing into the back of the Bug (rather warily) as Ginji and Ban took the front seats, Emishi and Shido getting into a rather questionable looking pick-up truck, and Himiko getting on her motorcycle as Akabane got into the side car. Emishi happened to glance at the doorway of the hotel as he pulled out and noticed Kikaiko was standing there, smiling and waving at him.

"Shido-kun! Look! She's smiling now!" he cried out, hitting the brakes and pointing at the door. Just as Shido looked up Kikaiko retreated into the hotel.

"Stop goofing off and drive," he ordered. Emishi stammered helpless for a few moments, then finally, still sulking, stepped on the gas to follow the others out onto the road.

End of Chapter Four

*Cue Goo's Stupidity*

Next Chapter of Get Backers: "Endloser Palast, Inside the Fortress of Wilhelm Grimm". Look forward to it!

Any similarity between anyone living or dead is purely coincidental unless other wise noted.


	5. Endloser Palast, Inside the Fortress of ...

Disclaimer- No one's mine but the OCs. If the friendly GB people want them, they can have them. I don't want them. Well, most of them....

Goo's Note- In the last chapter someone told me the people who ended up killing Shido's clan had to do with insects. I didn't know when I made up Kikaiko, but if you want to connect her with them you can do so. You'll see her again later in the fic but you don't find anything else out about her or any of the other Goshoku Sisters (they're only shown briefly). Anyway, the Wilhelm leg of the fic promises to be much better than the Jakob one (and maybe slightly longer, though I hope not. I am not losing interest in the fic yet but I never know when I will).

****

Wilhelm's Manuscript

Chapter Five: Endloser Palast, Inside the Fortress of Wilhelm Grimm

By A Girl Named Goo

Beta'd by yhibiki/Eike

"Wilhelm lives in one of the world's most famous houses," Hevn explained to the group that was following her down the side of the road, mostly concealed by trees and hedges. It was after dark, and the streetlights and lights in a few homes were the only things they could see by, the moon being concealed by clouds. "The original owner, who asked for it to be built, had it designed as a maze. He was obsessed with security. To get to any of the important rooms you need to locate special hidden rooms and corridors. Only the current owner of the house can be given the floorplan of the house. Rumor has it people can walk around it for the rest of their lives and never see all there is to see in it, which is where it got it's name: Endloser Palast."

"Endloser Palast?" Himiko asked. She was walking behind Hevn.

"Endless Palace," Ban translated. He was right behind Himiko, smoking a cigarette.

"I heard about that place," Kadsuki added. "It used to belong to one German family living in Yokohama. Then it was suddenly signed over to someone else and the former owner disappeared. It's believed he was driven out of the country."

Hevn nodded. "Yes, that's true. And not surprising. From what I've heard of Wilhelm Grimm he is known for his shady business deals. Both he and Jakob are notorious loan sharks, and they are both very paranoid and very dangerous."

"How will we find the manuscript in that place?" Ginji asked, a slight nervous edge crawling into his voice.

Hevn sweatdropped. "I hadn't thought that far ahead yet."

The ensuing shouts of anger caused lights all over the block to switch on and people to shout at them to be quiet.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I thought you said he was paranoid?" Emishi whispered to Hevn from his place behind a bush.

Hevn bit her lip before answering. "He is. He must just be too confident that no one can navigate the house," she finally announced, as if trying to convince herself as well as everyone present. The gates had been wide open when they arrived, and Ginji announced that he couldn't feel an electric current running through the metal. They were now crouched down in a group of hedges surrounding the perimeter of huge, angular house and had yet to see any security devices or guards.

They were all quiet, surveying the property for any sign of opposition. Surely someone as wealthy and powerful as Wilhelm Grimm would have some sort of external security...

"Right there," Ban said at last, pointing to the front of the house, leaning against a pillar that was holding up the front entryway. From where they were standing all any of them could see was a person with black hair, a black shirt, and white pants. "And there is another one nearby," Ban added.

"How do you know?" Ginji asked him, squinting to see the second one.

"Because I think I know who that is," Ban explained. Everyone had turned to face him now, so he sat down on the ground rather than crouching. "If that's who I think it is, then the Tanshoku twins work here, and that's not good. They're both mute, but they have a kind of connection to one another. They are never standing together, and the further apart the more dangerous they are. They work in synch, and if one gets hurt the other gets more powerful to compensate. Your only hope of beating them is to attack them at the same time, hard because they're never together."

Hevn nodded. "And is there any way around them?"

Ban nodded. "We have one chance: they take turns sleeping and neither one is particularly observant. If that one is the one that's awake then it should be no problem slipping past him. If he doesn't see us he can't wake up his brother."

"And what if he's the one that's sleeping?" Himiko asked.

Ban shrugged. "Then we'd better turn around and make another plan."

"Maybe one of us should go up and see if he's awake first," Kadsuki suggested. "If he is then we can all take turns sneaking over there."

"I nominate Ban," Hevn announced. "He knows them the best."

"What?!" Ban snapped, turning to glare at her.

"I second that motion," Kadsuki added. Ban turned his gaze back over to him and Kadsuki shrugged. "It's true. You know more about them than we do and you're fast."

Ban looked around for someone- _anyone- _to stand up and volunteer to go in his place, but no one did. Even Akabane, usually intrigued by the prospect of a fight, remained still, smiling at Ban as he glared in his direction. 

Realizing he was outnumbered (and Kadsuki had a good point) he began to edge around the bushes, darting toward another cluster of shrubbery closer to the house. He leaned forward and looked at the figure leaning against the pillar. When there was no movement he darted over toward the next group of bushes. Unfortunately they were rose bushes, and he grunted as the thorns cut his skin, but still the lone guard didn't move, which was making Ban lose hope that he was awake. He darted toward the last bit of landscaping: a group of low hedges, running along the edge of the white stone steps that lead to the entrance of the mansion. Diving into the hedges, he crawled along the ground on his stomach and looked around the steps, up at the guard. He didn't move, but Ban could see his dark eyes gazing off in the distance. He held up his hand and made a waving gesture, signaling the others to follow his route.

One by one the group dove into the various bushes (letting out interesting grunts, cries, and exclamations as they found the rose bush the hard way), joining Ban behind the hedge and forming a line (as the gap between the bush and the steps was too narrow for them to get into a group). They were all looking disheveled as they appeared, with cuts on their skin and twigs and leaves in their hair. Only Akabane seemed unscathed, which lead Ban to believe he'd taken an alternate route.

Ban looked back at the others and jerked his head toward the steps. The others nodded as he leapt from behind the hedge and up the steps, the others following him, knowing that if the guard was awake then they'd have a very narrow window in which they could make it to the door. Ban put his hand on the doorknob and began to turn it, but before he could open the door a white stream of light hit his hand, stunning him and sending him tumbling to the ground. They others turned around quickly to see the guard had turned around, a long silver rapier in his left hand. Everyone immediately reached for their weapons of choice when they noticed a second figure coming out from behind a tree in the yard, holding a matching silver rapier in his right hand.

There was really no way to tell the twins apart (besides what their dominant hand was). They were both short and thin, rather delicate looking. Their skin was pale, and both had young, androgynous looking faces. The one on the steps had a rather sad expression on his face, reaching his dark eyes, while the one near the tree had a self-satisfied smirk on his face, nothing but malice in his eyes. Both had neat, short black hair and wore tight white silk pants, black Chinese-style tops with white trimming and white buttons, and black Chinese-style shoes.

"He wasn't...awake," Ban finally choked out, shock wearing off as he slowly sat up. "He was....sleeping with his eyes open. His brother saw us." The twins nodded simultaneously, even though the sadistic looking one was too far away to have heard what Ban said.

"So what do we do now?" Kadsuki asked, not daring to move. He could easily trap the one that was closest to them, but then the other would only become more dangerous.

Ban seemed to seriously consider this. "One of them is too far away. If some of us tried to run toward him the other would get in our way and we'd have to attack him. Unless they are attacked at the exact same moment they'll just keep exchanging power."

Akabane smiled. "Then there is a simple solution to this."

Realizing what he was about to do, Himiko shouted "no!", but at the same moment Akabane said "bloody rain". Several scalpels rained down, landing on the twin that was standing near the tree....but narrowly missing the one that was near them. A stream of black fog shot from the unmoving body of the fallen twin and was absorbed into the body of the other, whose face contorted with rage.

White light surrounded the remaining twin, who had dropped his hands to his sides. As he quickly raised his hands the light burst as if it were made of glass, sending burning shards raining down on the group. They all immediately ducked down, trying to shield their faces and other sensitive areas from the shards. When the shower was finished they slowly stood up. Out by the tree the other twin was slowly climbing to his feet, the enraged look appearing on his face as it melted off his brother's.

"This isn't good," Emishi observed, looking between the brothers. "So what now?"

Ban seemed to think about this for a moment. "Well, the way I see it, we have two options: we can jump between them, attack, and hope for the best, or we can run for it and hope for the best."

No one seemed pleased with either of these options. Himiko was the first to speak up. "We have to get in there somehow. So..." She held up one of her perfumes and looked at the brother that was standing right beside her. She waved it under his nose, and he passed out. Everyone looked surprised by this, not least of which being the other brother. "I just put him to sleep," Himiko explained. "Because he's not hurt he can't transfer power over to his brother."

"Smart thinking!" Emishi exclaimed, jumping off the steps and onto the yard between the brothers. He brandished his whip and made to attack the brother who was still standing. With a wave of his hand, Emishi was sent toppling over. "What the...?" he asked, looking at the group on the steps in confusion.

"You stepped between them," Ban explained. "That's where you are most able to attack both. Because it's their weak point they increase their power and defense when people are there."

"Fascinating," Akabane said, stepping off the steps and walking slowly to the place between the twins where Emishi had been tossed aside. The twin he was approaching only watched him curiously as Akabane stepped right up toward him, brandishing his scalpels. He easily reached out and slashed the young man's cheek.

He let out a silent cry, and on the steps his unconscious brother suddenly leapt to his feet. The others, realizing what a delicate situation this was, stepped off the stone stairs and down into the space between the twins. The one with the bleeding cheek backed up slowly as the one who had been knocked out stepped forward, both holding their swords out in front of them menacingly.

"I think we're in trouble now," Emishi observed, getting back to his feet.

Shido whistled, and a flock of crows descended onto the brothers, who raised their swords in perfect synchronization. Black energy from the brother by the tree and white energy from the brother near the steps poured out and formed braids all around them, then forming a dome around them. The light dissipated, and the birds hit an invisible barrier. The brothers lowered their swords again, pointing them at the group.

Ban gritted his teeth and whispered "Ginji, Himiko, Thread Spool, Monkey Trainer...you go that way when I give my signal. The rest of you, follow me."

"What are we going to do?" Himiko asked, her hand already behind her back, fingers feeling the tops of her bottles of perfumes.

"Our only hope is to attack them at the same time with all we've got," Ban explained. "We can't work in unison like they can. When I first met them I heard a rumor they aren't two different people, they're one mind in two bodies. That's why they can work together like that and compensate for the other's injuries. They know that only people with that kind of connection, that kind of ability to work together, can harm them. So we had better hope that fate's on our side tonight."

Everyone nodded, waiting for the signal. "Now!" Ban suddenly cried out, and two groups rushed to either of the twins: Ban's group heading for the one near the tree, and Ginji's back toward the steps. The shield around them crackled and faded as the two were caught off guard. Clouds of black and white energy floated back and forth as their exchanged power as quickly as they exchanged blows. Hevn had jumped back onto the steps to get out of the way, edging slowly toward the door. She put her hand on it, ready to fling it open as soon as the others were finished.

Himiko took out her flame scent and waved it at the twin she was attacking as Shido slashed at him with tiger claws, Ginji tried to shock him, and Kadsuki tried to bind him with strings. On the other side of the clearing Jubei was holding his orb in his hand, launching needles at the twin they were trying to bring down as Akabane dove toward him with his bloody sword, Ban reaching out and grabbing his arm and squeezing with all of his might, breaking it easily. Emishi had twisted his whip around his midsection, and with a pull he was down on the ground.

The twin in front of the steps suddenly fell forward, grasping his shoulder and gasping. Everyone stopped for a moment to look at him, including his brother. Much to their amazement, the brother by the tree's sword dissolved and he closed the space between them, rushing over to the other twin, who had pulled his hand from his shoulder. Those standing around him could see what he had been concealing: an iridescent white tattoo, shining in the dim light from the steps, on his left shoulder blade. His brother crouched down to examine the damage, then looked up at the others and glared. The rest of the group was walking over now, amazed by this display. They were making themselves completely vulnerable.

"They don't share a mind," Kadsuki said at last. "They are just connected to each other. That mark on his must be where their connection is. The other probably has one as well."

Akabane smiled. "Then this should be easy to take care of," he said, holding up his scalpels.

"Wait!" Himiko snapped. "It's not just about their powers. Those marks connect them. They can't talk because they don't need to. They only have to communicate with each other. They'd rather be separated from the world together than join the world apart."

Akabane looked undaunted as he continued to aim his scalpels at the mark on the boy's shoulder. Ginji stepped in front of him, shielding the twins, a determined look in his eye. "Don't do it!" he ordered simply.

To this, Akabane finally retracted his scalpels. He still had no sympathy for the twins' plight, but was motivated instead by his reluctance to go through his current business associate to get to them. "You always ruin my fun," he said in response, turning to look away from the twins.

There was a collective sigh of relief, and Ban looked down at the twins. "If we let you go, do you promise to let us inside the house?"

They nodded in unison, and the group looked at each other, before leaving the pair sitting in front of the steps, walking through the door that Hevn held open.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

The first thing they encountered was a wall. They were standing in a thin corridor, barely wide enough for two people to stand in side by side, with a wall directly in front of the door. It was nicely paneled, and the carpet on the floor was very soft and expensive looking. The wall stretched very far to both their left and their right, with a few lighting fixtures evenly spaced to give it a strangely warm feeling.

"Which way do we go now?" Emishi asked, leaning over and looking down the left corridor.

"I don't know. I don't have a map," Hevn snapped.

"Great. We're going to wander through here lost for the rest of our lives," Ban muttered, lighting a cigarette.

Kadsuki shook his head and smiled. "Theseus."

"What are you babbling about now?" Ban asked him, narrowing his eyes.

"Theseus," Kadsuki repeated, removing one of his bells. "In Greek mythology Theseus defeated the Minotaur, which was half man, half bull. But first he had to navigate the labyrinth, a giant maze. Before he went in the girl who had fallen in love with him, Ariadne, gave him a ball of string so that he could always retrace his steps and find his way out."

"Oh! So Kadsu-chan can use his string and we won't get lost!" Ginji finished excitedly. Kadsuki nodded, holding the bell down by his side.

"In this carpeting no one will be able to see the string unless they are looking for it, so no one can follow us," Kadsuki added. "And perhaps we should split up. We'll cover more ground and if one group finds the manuscript then they can find the other group easily."

"But how can we do that when you're the only one with strings?" Jubei asked uncertainly.

"I can handle it," Himiko said. She held up a bottle. "With my tracking scent."

"Now it's just a matter of who is going with who," Ban said.

"Why don't we just split up into the same groups that we started in?" Ginji suggested. When no one seemed to argue, Shido, Emishi, Akabane, and Hevn stepped over to the right with Himiko while Jubei, Ban, and Ginji stepped over to the left side with Kadsuki.

"We'll see you later!" Ginji called behind him as Kadsuki started walking, bell by his side, releasing a fine thread as he moved.

"Right! Later!" Himiko called back, holding her bottle out to the side of her near the wall as she lead her group down the other path...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kadsuki pushed on the wall lightly, still holding his bell to his side as he walked. Behind him, Ban was pushing on the opposite room. So far they had discovered that the only doors in this place were disguised as normal walls. After making this discovery they had so far found four closets, a bathroom (which they all gratefully used), and more corridors.

"Here's one," Ban announced, pushing in the panel. His eyes widened before he hesitantly stepped in, causing the others to stop and follow him. Noticing how reluctant he was to step inside, the others were also slow to follow him into the room. It didn't take long for Ginji and Kadsuki to see why Ban had been reluctant to step into this room: the room had been paneled to resemble a thatched cabin, and instead of electric lights a fire was lit in the fire place. On each wall was a door, and in a circle around the room were twelve coffins. Next to each coffin was a raven on a perch, untethered, squawking and preening their feathers. Each coffin bore a brass plaque with an inscription:

Wenn das dreizehnte Kind, was du zur Welt bringst, ein Mädchen ist, so sollen die zwölf Buben sterben, damit sein Reichtum groß wird und das Königreich ihm allein zufällt.

"'If the thirteenth child which you are about to bring into the world, is a girl, the twelve boys shall die, in order that her possessions may be great, and that the kingdom may fall to her alone'," Ban translated as he read one of the coffins.

"What...is this place?" Ginji asked at last. Jubei had edged around one of the perches and was running his hand along the top of a coffin, Kadsuki and Ban had found their way to the center of the circle, and Ginji was still in front of the door they had come in through.

"I think it's supposed to be based on a fairy tale," Kadsuki observed, looking around. "But I can't tell which one..."

Ban side and pushed his sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose. "The Twelve Brothers," he supplied. The others turned to face him as he spoke. "In that story a woman had twelve sons when she became pregnant again. Her husband announced that if the child was a girl he'd kill all of his sons so she could have everything, and even had coffins made for them all. The mother warned her youngest son, who took his brothers into a cabin in the woods. The mother had a girl, and when she grew up she discovered twelve men's shirts too small to be her father's and asked who they belonged to. Her mother told her about her brothers, so she took the shirts and went into the woods to find them.

"She found them living in the cabin. At first they wanted revenge on her for forcing her out, but she was so beautiful and kind they decided they couldn't kill her and let her live with them. She tended the cabin while they hunted and one day she saw twelve flowers. When she picked them her brothers all turned into ravens, and a witch came to her and told her the flowers she had picked had been her brothers. The only way to save them would be if she didn't smile, laugh, or speak for seven years, no matter what."

He stopped there, and no one moved, waiting for him to finish the story. Finally Ginji said "So then what happened?"

Ban shrugged and lit a cigarette. "A king found her and married her and married her, but the village spread rumors, saying she was a demon and a witch and that only those who have no souls can't laugh. It was the old witch who started the rumors, and the king didn't believe them at first but his subjects were so panicked he had no choice but to sentence her to death.

"She was tied to a stake and the stake was lit on fire, but just as she started to burn the seven years were up and twelve ravens swooped down, beating out the fire with their wings before turning into men. The sister then told her husband the whole story and her brothers came to live with her and they lived happily ever after."

Just for the sake of closure, Kadsuki asked, "And the old witch?"

Again, Ban shrugged and took a drag off his cigarette. "She was sentenced to death, thrown into a pot of boiling oil, and then fed to venomous snakes."

The others shuddered, and Jubei and Ginji finally walked into the center of the room, comforted by the knowledge that the coffins were furniture and not sign of something more ominous.

"Which way, Thread Spool?" Ban asked, dropping his cigarette and stepping it out. Kadsuki seemed to be giving this serious consideration.

"Let's see where they all lead to first," he suggest. Ban edged between a perch and a coffin to open the door to the left of where they had come in, Ginji took the one to the right, and Kadsuki walked over to the one directly across from it. They all opened the doors and said simultaneously, "Hallway."

Ban shut the door, and Ginji followed suit. "We'll use your way," he said to Kadsuki. "You've already got a string leading there, and it's best to just go in a straight line if we can."

Kadsuki nodded, and they all left the room of the Twelve Brothers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Himiko suddenly paused in leading the way down the corridor and looked behind her. Something was definitely off. One moment Hevn had been trailing behind, muttering about how this job was turning out, and the next she had suddenly gone silent. Looked in the group, Himiko came to the realization that Hevn was gone.

"Did any of you see where Hevn went?" Himiko asked, pushing aside the men in an effort to find the vanished negotiator.

"No," Emishi said, sounding equally startled as he helped her look. Shido and Akabane also began to survey the corridor. Himiko began knocking on walls, shouting Hevn's name when she suddenly fell forward, releasing a startled grunt as she did. The others turned to look in her direction and immediately saw what happened: she'd fallen through a hidden door.

Himiko stood up quickly, brushing off her pants and picking up her bottle of perfume that she had dropped. She looked into the room and widened her eyes. The others followed her inside, Akabane closing the door behind them.

The room was dim, painted with gray rainclouds on the walls, as well as grass bent over in a wind and old cottages appearing to be in the distance. But the highlight of the room was a large, sturdy looking juniper tree, it's berries nearly ripe despite the only light in the otherwise dreary room was a single weak sunlamp. At the base of the tree, leaning against it, was a large, thick, circular stone with a hole in the center, not unlike a wheel. A pair of dainty little red leather shoes rested in front of the wheel, and a gold chain was laying across the shoes. A small, brightly coloured bird suddenly dropped from the branches of the tree and landed on top of the wheel, cocked it's head, and began to chirp sweetly. In one corner of the room was a very old-looking, very large chest full of shiny red apples.

Emishi whistled lowly. "Wow. This Wilhelm guy sure has some strange tastes."

Akabane stepped away from the door and toward the wheel-shaped stone propped up against the tree. Himiko noticed there was something written on the door behind him:

mein Mutter, der mich schlacht,   
mein Vater, der mich aß,  
mein Schwester, der Marlenichen,   
sucht alle meine Benichen,  
bind't sie in ein seiden Tuch,  
legts unter den Machandelbaum.  
Kywitt, kywitt, wat vör'n schöön Vagel bün ik!

"What do you think that means?" Himiko asked, note understanding a bit of it. Emishi shrugged, Shido now had the little bird perched on his finger, and Akabane was kneeling to examine the gold chain.

"The Juniper Tree," Akabane said, standing with the gold chain in his hand.

"Yeah, that's a tree all right," Emishi agreed, reaching up to feel the branches. It was an evergreen tree, so the flat little "leaves" felt oddly rubbery.

"No, the story," Akabane corrected. "The room is supposed to symbolize the fairy tale of the Juniper Tree."

Himiko picked up one of the apples. It seemed to be real, but she didn't dare taste it. "Do you know the story?"

Akabane shrugged and laid the gold chain over the shoes again. "I know enough of it. It's a rather unpleasant story. A man's wife wished for a child more than anything, and when she finally had one she died. The man remarried and had a daughter with his new wife, who was jealous of the son. So one day, while her husband was gone and the boy was at school, the daughter asked for an apple and the wife had an idea. She told her daughter she couldn't have an apple until her brother got home, and when he came home from school she told him to get some apples out of the old trunk upstairs. When he opened the trunk and reached in his step-mother slammed the lid shut and decapitated him."

Himiko immediately dropped the apple in her hand and began to eye the trunk suspiciously. No, there wasn't a little boy's head inside it. She sighed with relief and turned back toward Akabane, who continued the story.

"The step-mother didn't want to be blamed for killing her step-son, so she propped the boy up by the door with his head on his shoulders and gave her daughter an apple, telling her to give it to her brother. When she tried to give it to him his head fell off, and the daughter thought she had killed her brother. The wife suggested they hide what they had done by baking the boy into a pie, and after the pie was made they fed it to the boy's father. But the daughter was so distraught that she collected all of her brother's bones and buried them beneath the Juniper tree.

"That night the soul of the boy turned into a beautiful bird and flew from the branches of the tree, and by morning it had reached the village. It first flew to the goldsmith and began to sing beautifully about what had happened to him as the boy. The goldsmith was moved and asked him to sing it again, saying he'd give him the gold chain he was working on if he did. The bird agreed, received the chain, and flew off to the cobbler and sang again. This time the cobbler offered him the red shoes he was working on if he sang it again, and the bird did and took the shoes. Finally he flew to the mill, where he sang the song. All of the millworkers were so moved, they gave him the millstone they were using. Then the bird flew back to his house and began to sing again, loudly, and a ferocious storm sprang up.

"The wife tried to ignore it, but finally the whole family went outside. When they did the bird swooped down and dropped the gold chain around his father's neck, dropped the shoes down into his sister's hands, and dropped the millstone on top of his step-mother's head. When she died, the boy came back to life and they all lived happily ever after."

No one spoke for a few moments. Finally, Emishi announced, "This place is giving me the creeps. Let's get out of here."

"Shouldn't we look for Hevn-san?" Himiko asked, although she wanted nothing more than to get out of this room as well.

Akabane started walking toward the door opposite the one they came in. "You have been using your tracking scent. If she is all right then she will find us."

Deciding that was true enough, Himiko walked out the door that Akabane held open for her and held out her tracking scent again, Emishi close behind, followed by Shido, who still had the bird on his shoulder. Akabane closed the door behind them and they continued to make their way deeper into the labyrinth of the mansion.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It took another twenty minutes for them to find the next room, and it was actually Jubei accidentally falling into it that revealed its existence. Once it was exposed, however, they all walked into it with a sense of awe and none of the apprehension they'd had when entering the other room.

The one was a huge ballroom. Although it was completely empty of people, there were musical instruments set up on a raised platform meant for a band and long, empty buffet table. Crystal chandeliers were hanging down from the high, dome ceiling, illuminating the floor's gold-tone finish. On three dress dummies on a platform in the center of the room were gorgeous ballgowns: the first mostly silver with gold accents, the next equal portions silver and gold, and the last almost entirely gold. On gold cushions next to each of the first two dresses were a pair of elaborate-looking silver slippers, and next to the last dress was a silver cushion with a pair of gold slippers.

"Wow..." Ginji said, looking around the huge ballroom. "What's this place supposed to be?"

Ban surveyed the room some more. In each corner was a small, obviously fake tree. In the lower left and upper right corner was a gold one, and in the other corners were silver ones. "Aschenputtel," he finally said. Before anyone could ask, he translated. "Cinderella."

"It's...empty in here," Jubei observed, from the way their voices echoed in the ballroom and how it felt to him.

Kadsuki walked over to Jubei. "It's really pretty, though," he told him. "But a little creepy."

"Hey, Thread Spool, I think those ballgowns would just about fit you if you two want to have a moment," Ban suggested, his voice serious although he was obviously joking.

Kadsuki glared at Ban, but Jubei tightened his grip on his shoulders. "Let's just get out of here," he suggested. Kadsuki nodded, but when he crossed the room, followed by the others. But tried to open the smooth, mahogany door he was shocked to find that he couldn't get it open. He looked at the door for a moment, then walked over to another door, snaking the string around the bandstand. That one wouldn't unlock, either. He yanked the string back around and walked to the last door, pulling the string around the buffet table. That was also locked. Not one to be discouraged by this, he began to retract the string as he walked back to the door they had come in through...to find it was also locked.

"We're locked in," Ban observed, lighting a cigarette. Kadsuki just sighed and nodded, looking down. Then he noticed on the floor, in front of the door, was a bronze plaque. He knelt down to read it:

Ihr zahmen Täubchen, ihr Turteltäubchen, all ihr Vöglein unter dem Himmel, kommt und helft mir lesen, die guten ins Töpfchen, die schlechten ins Kröpfchen.

He examined it closely, trying desperately to translate it and failing. Ban had kneeled down by that point.

"'You tame pigeons, you turtle-doves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to pick the good into the pot, the bad into the crop'," Ban translated, taking a drag off his cigarette and standing up.

"What does that mean?" Ginji asked, examining the plaque for himself now.

Ban seemed to give this some thought. "In Cinderella that's what she would say after her sisters threw lentils into the fireplace for her to pick up. Then the birds would come in and pick them up for her."

"So she was like Shido-kun," Ginji observed, giving up on the plaque.

Ban shrugged. "Lots of people in fairy tales had the ability to talk to animals and ask them for help if they had helped them in the past or were exceptionally pure of heart."

Kadsuki seemed confused by the oddly-placed plaque. He placed his bell on top of it and walked across the room and looked down. Sure enough, in front of the door opposite the one they had come in through, there was another plaque on the floor. Ban came up behind him and leaned over to examine this one:

Bäumchen, rüttel dich und schüttel dich, wirf Gold und Silber über mich.

He took another drag off his cigarette before he translated it. "'Shiver and quiver, little tree, silver and gold throw down over me.'"

"And that means...?" Jubei asked, coming up behind them with Ginji in tow.

"In the story that's what Cinderella said to her tree made from a branch her late father gave her so that it would make her a dress. She did it three times, once for each day of the ball. I assume the dresses over there are supposed to be copies of those dresses."

Kadsuki had already moved on to the door near the bandstand, and Ban ran over to examine the plaque on the floor there.

Rucke di guck, rucke di guck, Blut ist im Schuck: der Schuck ist zu klein, die rechte Braut sitzt noch daheim.

Ban once again took a drag from his cigarette before he translated. "Turn and peep, turn and peep, there's blood within the shoe, the shoe it is too small for her, the true bride waits for you'. When Cinderella left her slipper, the prince traveled all around the country looking for the woman that it fit. When he got to Cinderella's house her stepmother cut off a piece of each sister's foot to make the slipper fit. Two pigeons shouted this to the prince, and he would notice the girl's foot bleeding and take her back."

There was only one door left, and all four traveled together over to it.

Rucke di guck, rucke di guck, kein Blut im Schuck: der Schuck ist nicht zu klein, die rechte Braut, die führt er heim.

Ban stepped out his cigarette on top of the plaque before translating. "'Turn and peep, turn and peep, no blood is in the shoe, the shoe is not too small for her, the true bride rides with you.' That's what the pigeons shouted to the prince after he found Cinderella to let him know he finally had his true bride." 

"So how do we get out of here?" Kadsuki asked, a bit bitter that he didn't have the answer this time. Ban just shrugged, and with a sigh he crossed the room to retrieve his bell. On the way he noticed there was another plaque in front of the three dresses, this one on a pedestal in full sight. Changing his course, he approached it. The others seemed to notice it as well, as they also turned to see what was written on it.

"Es hilft dir alles nichts: du kommst nicht mit, denn du hast keine Kleider und kannst nicht tanzen; wir müßten uns deiner schämen."

Ban seemed rather confused by this one, but he translated it anyway. "'All this will not help. You cannot go with us, for you have no clothes and can not dance. We should be ashamed of you.'"

"Let me guess: what Cinderella's stepmother told her when she wanted to go to the ball," Kadsuki said. Ban nodded, and Kadsuki examined the plaque again. "I think it means that the doors will only open to someone who is wearing one of these dresses." As soon as the words were out of his mouth he became accutely aware of Ban, Ginji, and even Jubei staring at him. "What? Don't look at me that way! I'm not-"

"You're the only one they would fit," Ban pointed out.

"Please, Kadsu-chan? So we can go?" Ginji begged.

Kadsuki looked at the three dresses, swallowed, then stepped up onto the platform and took the third one off the dummy, unzipping the back and putting it on over his clothes. He slipped off his shoes and put on the golden slippers, stepping briskly off the platform and to the door near the bandstand. It didn't open. He walked to the door opposite the one they came in through. It didn't open, either. Giving the others a look that said if they said anything he'd kill them all, he went to the door behind the buffet table. No luck. He finally walked to the door they had started at, but that was also locked. He yanked off the dress and tossed it bitterly to the floor, picking up his bell and approaching the platform again.

He repeated this process with the second dress and slippers, but had no luck, and finally picked up the silver dress and slippers. Much to his relief it opened with a resounding _click. _He held the door open as the others rushed out of it, and shed the dress and slippers before shutting the door behind him, glad that the experience was now behind him, and put on his regular shoes.

"You know, it probably would have worked if you'd just held the dress," Ban pointed out.

"Shut up," Kadsuki snapped.

"Or Ginji or I could have-"

"I said shut up!"

Ban smirked. "Admit it, Thread Spool: you just wanted an excuse to try on those pretty dresses."

Jubei had to hold Kadsuki's arms to restrain him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After the discovery of the Juniper Tree room (and the mysterious disappearance of Hevn), the remaining members of Himiko's group were being much more careful**. **Akabane had been elected to bring up the rear, being that he would probably be the most difficult to abduct. Emishi and Shido stayed in front of her to press on the walls in search of doors, Himiko remaining in the middle as she continued to mark the wall with her tracking scent.

"Found one!" Emishi announced happily. Everyone paused at that announcement, then turned to gather around the hidden door Emishi had found, expecting another corridor. Instead, inside was a huge room that looked like a barn. Inside it were three giant stacks of hay and a single spinning wheel in the corner. After they had all walked in Emishi released the door, which promptly slammed shut behind them. Out of curiosity, he tried to pull the door open again. Nothing. It was locked.

In front of each stack of hay was a bronze plaque. The first read "Wenn du diese Nacht durch bis morgen früh dieses Stroh nicht zu Gold versponnen hast, so mußt du sterben." The second read "Darauf ward die Kammer verschlossen, und sie blieb allein darin." And the last siad "Das Mädchen wußte sich nicht zu helfen und weinte, da ging abermals die Türe auf, und das kleine Männchen kam und sprach 'was gibst du mir wenn ich dir das Stroh zu Gold spinne?' 'Meinen Ring von dem Finger' antwortete das Mädchen."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Emishi snapped, stepping on one of the plaques as if it would magically be translated if he did so.

"I think this is the Rumpelstiltskin room," Himiko observed, looking at the stacks of hay and the spinning wheel. "Straw into gold and all that."

"So let's just get out of here," Emishi said, reaching for his whip.

"Wait," Akabane instructed, and Emishi froze. "Perhaps we should try playing the game first." He smiled then. "It could be entertaining."

"But none of us speak German," Himiko pointed out. "How are we supposed to read those plaques?"

Akabane, still smiling, crouched in front of the first plaque. "I may recall enough from the original fairy tales to provide a loose translation." He examined the plaque. "I believe this one says if this straw has not been spun into gold by morning, then we shall die." He moved over to the second plaque and examined it. "This one says that the room is locked." And he proceeded to the last plaque. "And this one says that the girl gave the little man the ring on her finger."

"Well, that was helpful," Emishi said sarcastically.

"Do you think we're supposed to find a ring?" Himiko suggested.

"We should probably try to find something," Emishi muttered. He jumped into the closest pile of straw. Himiko eyed another pile of straw warily before wading in. She looked at Shido, expecting him to take the last, but instead he stroked the breastfeathers of the bird. When he removed his hand it flew into the last pile.

"Isn't that cheating, Shido-kun?" Emishi asked, poking his head out from the pile of straw.

"I asked Jonah if he knew where it is. He went to find it," Shido said simply.

"'Jonah'? Did he tell you that was his name?" Emishi said with a snicker.

Shido nodded. "That, and the tag on his ankle says that's his name."

Emishi dove back into the pile, and Himiko began to kick around the straw in her own pile, trying to find it without actually having to dive in. Suddenly, with an amazingly loud _whoosh_, Jonah flew out of the last pile of straw and over to Shido. The gold ring was in his beak, and Shido took it from him, stroking his head.

"Found it," he announced. Emishi poked out of the straw again, saw the ring in Shido's hand, and walked out completely, brushing the straw off of him and not quite getting it all. Himiko gratefully left the pile she was in, more successful in ridding herself of the straw. Akabane just smiled as he edged around the haystacks and over to Himiko, who had taken the ring and used it to open the door directly across from the one they came in through. Himiko tossed the ring back behind her as she left, just in case anyone else came into that room and needed to get back out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

To say that Kadsuki's group had been traveling in uncomfortable silence was an understatement. Kadsuki was still seething about having to needlessly humiliate himself, Ban didn't dare speak because he was in no mood to get into a fight with him, and Jubei and Ginji didn't say anything for fear either one would snap at them or get violent (although Jubei and Ginji now conspicuously stood between Kadsuki and Ban).

"Hey, Thread Spool," Ban shouted suddenly, causing the tension between the group to snap like a dry twig.

"I don't want to hear it," Kadsuki shouted back.

"You might want to hear this," Ban told him. "We've got company."

The group all froze and turned around. Behind Ban, with sword-tip placed on the small of his back, was the angry looking twin.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Didn't we tell them to buzz off?" Emishi asked as the twin with the sad looking face pointed his sword at the group.

"We told them to let us in the house. We never threatened to do anything to them if they didn't leave us alone once we got inside," Himiko pointed out. She knew as long as only one twin was present (and they had no way of knowing where the other was or what he was doing) then attacking him would be futile. It might even place the others in danger.

"Semantics," Akabane said simply, a smile spreading across his face.

"I think we should follow him," Shido added. Jonah seem a bit upsetas he saw the boy in front of them. "We don't have much of a choice."

The boy nodded slowly, then turned and began to walk away, casting looks over his shoulder as if checking to see if they were behind him. Reluctantly, they all followed the twin down the corridor.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kadsuki's group was already in the room when Himiko's group was forced in, the twins standing on either side of the room so as to be as far apart as possible. The room was at least as big as the Cinderella room, and appeared to be a converted music room from the looks of the grand piano near where the angry twin was standing. Opposite the entrance to the room, the wall was completely replaced by clear glass, exposing the grounds of the estate and the sun rising in the distance. A large mahogany desk was in front of the giant window, as well as a high-backed leather chair that hid whoever was sitting in it. The only thing that betrayed a person was sitting in it at all was the single pale hand holding a cigar. To either side of the desk were six perches, upon which the twelve ravens from the room of the Twelve Brothers were now currently perched.

No one spoke for a very long time. Not even the person at the desk, although occasionally the cigar would disappear around the front of the chair and then return to it's place beside it, smaller than it had been before. At first the tired retrievers were angry. Then they were just annoyed. Finally, Ban snapped, "What do you want with us?"

Slowly, the chair spun around**. **Ban looked at the lone figure, rather confused, a sentiment seemingly shared by Ginji and Kadsuki. He noticed that Himiko, Shido, and Emishi seemed rather pale, their faces displaying varying degrees of surprise. Jubei remained nuetral, unable to see the source of the others' shock and confusion, while Akabane merely smiled. Sitting in the chair was a woman, pale with long limbs and very short, very slick black hair. Her face was attractive, aristocratic, highlighted by a pair of amythest colored eyes behind silver glasses. She was wearing a simple black pant suit, tailored for a woman with it's low-cut jacket that accentuated her trim figure and her silk blouse, which had no tie but was tight enough to show the curve of her bust.

The woman stood up, still holding the cigar, and walked around to the front of her desk, eyes surveying the group before her. "Yes, you are quite a bunch," she announced finally. She had a very thick German accent. Ban noticed something particularly interesting as she began to pace in front of them: on the side of her glasses was a symbol that looked like a tiny blue eye. A traditional anti-Evil Eye charm. Did she know about his jagan?

"Who are you?" Ginji finally asked.

The woman paused in front of him, taking a drag off of her cigar and blowing smoke into his face. "Impatient, aren't you? All in due time." She turned and walked back over in front of her desk. "But very well. Although I must say it is very rude for you to break into my home and not know who I am." She laughed then. It was a hard, wild sound, rather frightening to hear. "I am Wilhelm Grimm."

****

End of Chapter Five

Last Note- The German is actually from the original _Kinder- und Hausmärchen_, so if anyone speaks German and doesn't quite understand that then it's probably because it's very old German. The translation in the Cinderalla and Twelve Brothers rooms actually comes from the popular Hunt translation of the Grimms' fairy tales (what most English-language collections of the Grimms' fairy tales use). If people are wondering what the door of the Juniper Tree room says, it'll show up again later. Here's exactly what the plaques in the Rumpelstiltskin room say:

1.) Now set to work, and if by to-morrow morning early you have not spun this straw into gold during the night, you must die.

2.) Thereupon he himself locked up the room, and left her in it alone.

3.) The girl knew not how to help herself, and was crying, when the door opened again, and the little man appeared, and said, "what will you give me if I spin that straw into gold for you." "The ring on my finger," answered the girl.

*Cue Goo's Stupidity*

Next Chapter of Get Backers: "The Woman Named Wilhelm". Look forward to it!

Any similarity between anyone living or dead is purely coincidental unless other wise noted.


	6. The Woman Named Wilhelm

Disclaimer- Still the same old same old. 

**Wilhelm's Manuscript**

**Chapter Six: The Woman Named Wilhelm**

**By A Girl Named Goo**

"You look surprised," Wilhelm observed, leaning against the piano and chewing on her cigar as she surveyed everyone present with her jewel-like violet eyes. 

Ban couldn't tell what it was, but something about her just unnerved him. She was very tall. Too tall, in fact. If she wasn't as tall as Akabane, she couldn't have been more than a hair shorter. It gave Ban the unpleasant feeling that he was a disobedient child answering to his mother, although nothing about her seemed maternal in the least. Physically, she probably wasn't very strong, and if she had any unusual abilities or fighting styles he couldn't tell what they could be. But he'd met her kind before, very intelligent, but also cruel and cunning and sadistic. Like Akabane, she made him feel the chilling sensation that she didn't have a soul.

Wilhelm put out the cigar on the piano, and the twin standing near it ran to clean up the mess obediently. Automatically. She approached the others again, pausing in front of Akabane, Shido, Emishi, and Himiko. "We meet so soon," she said simply. She laughed again, and Ban noticed Ginji wince at the sound. "It was only a matter of time."

"You know her?" Kadsuki asked, voicing the question on everyone in Ban's group's mind.

Himiko looked at the floor before spitting out bitterly "she's our client."

That news was like a slap in the face to the others. Ginji looked at Wilhelm, then back at Himiko. "But...Hamrich-san was our client."

Ban put a hand on Ginji's shoulder, gritting his teeth. "I'm going to kill Hevn..." It was then that he realized she wasn't with Himiko's group. "Where did she go?"

Wilhelm cleared her throat loudly, causing everyone to turn to face her. Apparently, she didn't like not being the center of attention. "As terribly amusing as this moment of realization is, we still have to address the matter of you breaking into my home." She approached her desk, brushing against a crow as she did, which released an indignant "caw". She waved her hand in it's general direction, but narrowly missed it, muttering "Seien Sie still" as she sat down.

"You know what we're here for, Wilhelm," Ban snapped at her. He didn't like this woman, and he liked being "left dangling" any more. He had no doubt she was doing it on purpose. In fact, their very presence didn't seem to faze her. There is nothing worse than an intelligent enemy than an intelligent enemy that you couldn't get the jump on.

"I was thinking that introductions were in order," Wilhelm held him evenly, opening a drawer on her desk and removing something. She carefully slid the drawer closed again and walked back around to the front of the desk. "You did not even know I was Wilhelm Grimm, and I only know the half of you working for me, although I certainly had an idea you would end up here. Foolish Jakob, trapping my retrieval specialists like that. It was never my intention for you to actually get the manuscript for me. You were merely a diversion."

Himiko gasped, but no one else reacted to her words. Wilhelm had turned her back on them and was tearing apart whatever was in her hand. "I see you've already met Jonah. Be careful with him. He is priceless, one of the last breeding males of his species. People have been trying to get him for years. Encouraging me to donate him, trying to buy him from me, and even trying to steal him. He was a gift to my second husband, an orthinology professor back in Germany." She walked over to the perch that was the farthest to the left of her desk. She gave the crow perched on it a piece of what was in her hand. "This is Noah," she said, walking over to the next perch and feeding the next crow. "Jeremiah." She repeated the process with each crow as she fed them. "Mark. Matthew. Luke. Peter. Paul. Abraham. Isaac. Jude. James..." She lingered for a moment in front of the last perch, before feeding the rest of what was in her hand to the last crow. "And Benjamin, my clear favorite."

She turned to face the others again, absently wiping her hand on her pants as she did so. They were all watching her intently. Everyone, that is, except for Shido, whose gaze was fixed pointedly on Benjamin, who seemed to stare back as he chewed on whatever Wilhelm had fed him. Wilhelm sat back at her desk, gesturing with her hand toward the twin standing near the piano. "You have met Kokuhaku." She gestured to the other twin this time. "And, of course, his brother, Kokubyaku. Marvelous specimens, aren't they? And you couldn't ask for more obedient servants." She opened another desk drawer, this time pulling out a cigar and a large (and rather ugly) silver lighter. On it was one sapphire and one amethyst, large and gaudy. It made Ban suddenly very proud of his own lighter. Wilhelm bit the end off the cigar and spit it back out, staring at the others as she lit it. "Now that my end of the introductions are over, I want to know who you are. Who all of you are."

No one spoke, for any number of reasons: they didn't want to just give in to Wilhelm's requests so easily, they were waiting to see if someone else would answer her, or they were simply too distracted to even register her question. Wilhelm examined her cigar thoughtfully, waiting for one of them to speak, and finally gave up. She stood and leaned forward on her desk, her pale hands making an echoing _smack_ as they came in contact with the dark wood.

"You don't want to do it? Then fine. I will. I think I have a fairly good idea who you are from the tapes my dearest friend Amaya Hajime sent to me," she told them. Her voice sounded calm, but she didn't even try to conceal the dangerous edge in it. She walked back around her desk, to the line of retrievers. She started with Akabane, and Ban was tempted to ask him to take off his hat so he could see if his estimation of their height was correct. "You are Akabane Kuroudo," she said, smiling. "I have always liked you. I'd get to know you better, but common sense says it's not very smart to get involved with anyone more dangerous than you are. My husbands all lacked that common sense." She laughed again, and this time Kadsuki was the one who winced.

Wilhelm walked over to Emishi and abruptly stopped laughing, glaring at him with narrowed eyes. "You, on the other hand, I don't like a single bit, Emishi Haruki. You are probably the only one I don't find amusing in the least."

"You just don't have a sense of humor," Emishi accused, although he was already pouting from her words.

Wilhelm shook her head. "I appreciate a man with a good sense of humor. It's what attracted me to my fourth husband. But you, my friend, do not have a good sense of humor."

Ban couldn't help but wonder where all these husbands of hers had gone. He decided it was best not to ask as she continued to Shido, who was still staring at the crows. She snapped her fingers, and he blinked once and turned to face her. His hair made him seem taller than she was, but he had to look up to meet her gaze.

"You are Fuyuki Shido," Wilhelm said. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't try to turn my birds against me. I treat them very well here, and I don't go to your home and steal your pets." Wilhelm went to touch Jonah, who hopped away from her hand, almost colliding with Shido's neck. Wilhelm glared at Shido as she walked over to Himiko. Ban wanted to shout for her to stay away from her, but he knew that would probably mean trouble for him at both Wilhelm and Himiko's hands.

Wilhelm reached out and gently smoothed down Himiko's hair. It was an odd moment. Her gesture was a motherly one, and the way she dwarfed the girl she knew Himiko probably felt that way. She didn't move from her as she did this, but she didn't look pleased, either. "I liked you even back when I first met you," she announced. "Kudou Himiko...such a lovely girl. You remind me very much of myself when I was a young girl." Himiko looked like she'd been insulted by what Wilhelm had obviously meant to be a compliment. "Perhaps when all of this...unpleasantness is finished you could stay here with me. Let me adopt you and make you my heir. Groom you to be my successor. All of this will be yours."

Himiko was clearly stunned for a moment. Ban found himself holding his breath, waiting for her answer. When she finally spat out contemptuously "I wouldn't want to be associated with you for all the money in the world" Ban couldn't hold back his sigh of relief. He looked around the room, but no one else seemed to share his sentiments. Ban's relief subsided as a horrific realization came to him: he'd honestly thought for a moment that Himiko would accept Wilhelm's offer. Someone who had been like a sister to him, and he hadn't trusted her judgment. He looked at Himiko, who hadn't seemed to notice his reaction. She was still glaring at Wilhelm, who looked like she'd just been slapped in the face.

"You will regret that decision," Wilhelm finally told her. "But because I know how stubborn young girls are and how quickly their minds change, I will leave my offer available to you. When- not if- you change your mind just let me know." Before Himiko could respond to her words Wilhelm had walked over to Jubei, chewing her cigar. She barely glanced at him before saying "Kakei Jubei. If you serve any real purpose in life, I have yet to find it. A waste of my time."

Ban saw Kadsuki grab Jubei's wrist, as his hand had been reaching for something. Wilhelm also noticed this as she stood in front of Kadsuki. "Cute. But you should let him attack. I am interested in what he can do." Kadsuki didn't move his hand, but Jubei had let his arm go limp so Ban suspected it wasn't to restrain him. Under different circumstances he would have commented on it. She was examining Kadsuki closely now, wearing the same smile she'd used when talking about Akabane and Himiko. Ban wasn't sure if it was a good thing to be liked by Wilhelm or not.

"My, aren't you the pretty one," Wilhelm finally assessed. "Your strings made such a horrible mess in my corridors, though. But clever to try to use them, Fuchoin Kadsuki." The way she said his name was proud, like only she knew it. Kadsuki didn't look impressed. "And I must say, you looked very pretty in those dresses. I was going to open the door for you after you tried on the first, but curiosity got the best of me. You really should wear dresses more often, though. They show off your lovely figure."

Kadsuki blushed, but Ban recognized the look in his eyes as anger and annoyance. Usually making comments about his femininity didn't offend him so much, but then, usually he didn't dislike the people making them as much as he obviously disliked Wilhelm. "I'm a man," he told her simply.

Wilhelm widened her eyes, the faintest hint of a blush crawling across her cheeks. "Yes, of course you are," she said quickly. "But none the less, you are a lovely one." As she walked over to Ginji, Ban noticed the look on Kadsuki's face was one of satisfaction, apparently from making Wilhelm feel foolish. He'd also released Jubei's wrist.

Wilhelm readjusted her glasses as she looked Ginji up and down. "Yes, Amano Ginji...Hajime had a lot to say about you. One of his girls was quite taken with you, it seems, and you managed to destroy all of his cameras. He told me that he only wished he'd met you sooner to examine you and discover what gave your body the ability to generate electricity so he could harness it." Ginji just blinked at her, not really sure what to say. Wilhelm was still speaking, however. "You strike me as a very sweet person," she told him, taking another drag off of her cigar. "But nice guys finish last. Just ask my first and fourth husbands. Oops, I forgot. You can't." She laughed again, and this time both Himiko and Emishi winced.

Finally, Wilhelm reached Ban, looking him right in the eye with her own eyes narrowed, obviously not aware of what a big mistake that was. Either she didn't know about Ban's jagan or she had a lot of faith in her glasses as an "Evil Eye shield". Ban had to admit he wasn't sure if her faith in that little symbol would prevent him from accessing her mind to use the jagan or not, but he didn't want to try it just yet. He still didn't know where the manuscript was, and he was interested in how she knew Amaya Hajime.

"You weren't on Hajime's tapes," she told him in German. Ban was caught off guard at first, before remembering she had probably seen him translating the plaques in the Cinderella room if she had seen Kadsuki trying on the dresses. "At least, not in the fighting ones, Ban Midou."

"How do you know Amaya?" he asked her, also speaking in German. Best to play her game if he wanted information from her.

Wilhelm smiled, taking another drag off of her cigar and looking up to blow the smoke toward the ceiling. She looked at the cigar in her hand, now down to a useless butt, and threw it to the floor. Once again it was Kokuhaku, the twin near the piano, that ran over to pick it up, and Ban noticed his left arm was dangling uselessly at his side. He could have sworn it was his dominant arm that he had broken... 

"I was the employer who fired him after he got sick," she explained. "He worked for me ever since I moved to Japan. After my fourth husband died we became lovers, but then he infected himself with a virus and became very ill. We would have gotten married if it weren't for that." She laughed again, and everyone else was staring at her blankly, not understanding what she was saying but knowing it couldn't be good if it amused her so. "Then my cousin Jakob loaned him some money, not knowing he was still giving me information. He is a brilliant man, you know. He gave me a little gift before he left."

Wilhelm walked back over to her desk and sat behind it, reaching her hand beneath it. The doors to the room burst open, and a dozen large, suit-and-sunglasses clad men marched in, all holding guns. "These were a gift from Hajime," she announced, no longer speaking German. "That girl was just the beginning of his experiments. I lent him my own guards, and I think you will find them quite the formidable opponents. It is best you do not even try. It would be a shame if you were hurt." She was laughing yet again, but no one winced this time as the men surrounded the group. They all knew she was talking about Kaneko, and if these men had been subject to the same treatment they would probably be more trouble than they were worth.

"Take them down to the dungeon. I'll deal with them later. I am too tired to now," she ordered the guards, who nodded and pointed their guns at the group. They were all reaching for weapons now, but Ban lit a cigarette and looked past them at Wilhelm.

"What makes you think we won't just escape?" he asked her, speaking German again.

"Even if you do escape, you would become hopelessly lost just trying to find your way back to the first floor," she answered. She no longer sounded amused. In fact, she was beginning to sound worn out. Ban examined her closely as she bit off the end of another cigar and lit it. Then she added, more to herself than to Ban, "It's been a while since Solomon has had someone to play with..."

"Just go with them," Ban announced to the others, who didn't put their weapons back as they just stared at him. He was still examining Wilhelm, her expression now distant as she chewed on her cigar. He looked back at the guards surrounding them, catching something unusual on the face of one. "They aren't worth the time or the effort. Besides, she's got us beat."

There was something in the way he said that last sentence that made everyone suddenly understand what was going on. Or at least understand that Ban had some semblance of a plan in mind. They put their respective weapons away and allowed themselves to be lead out of the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ginji grabbed the bars on the small window of the metal door to the tiny, dark cell. He grunted with effort as he released a charge of electricity into the metal, then released the bars and attempted to slide the door open. It didn't work. "Ban-chan, the door isn't magnetic. Can you open it?"

Ban lit another cigarette. "Probably," he answered. He got off the cot he had been sitting on and examined the door, grabbing the bars and pulling for all he was worth. Of course it wouldn't open if Amaya Hajime had once conducted his experiments here. He had designed these cells to hold people with extraordinary strength. "Nope," he said, releasing the bars and sitting on the cot again. Jubei was sitting in the corner with Kadsuki, seemingly asleep, leaning against him.

"If you're about done, I'm sure my disintegration scent can handle this," Himiko shouted from the cell she was sharing with Shido, Emishi, and Akabane on the other end of the dungeon.

"Yeah, you probably could," Ban shouted back. "But wait for a moment."

Himiko didn't question him. Ban listened for the sound of a cell door opening, but heard nothing. He smirked and looked around the cell. There was a single window, covered by bars. From this angle he couldn't see the sunrise, just the stars outside. There was a single cot with a very thin wool blanket and no pillow. The door was solid except for the barred window and a slot that could be open or closed to insert things into. There was a hole in the center of the floor covered with a grate, but he didn't want to think about what that was used for. The cell was humid and sweltering. He could have sworn dungeons were supposed to be cold...

"Ban-chan, do you know something?" Ginji asked after a few moments of silence passed. He was in tare form, clinging to the cell window with all of his strength. 

Ban took his cigarette away from his lips and examined it closely. "Wilhem's guards don't speak German," he announced, as if that clarified everything.

No one spoke, waiting for Ban to continue. Finally, Emishi said "And....?"

Ban took another drag off of his cigarette. "And one of them said 'später' to me as he left. That means later. Back in Wilhelm's office I saw that the gun he was holding wasn't real. In other words, it's someone who might be coming to help us."

"Help all of us?"

Everyone jumped. The new voice was female and came from a cell somewhere between the two that the two groups were in. They had been under the impression that they were the only ones in the dungeon.

"I don't know," Ban said, the first to recover. "How many of you are there?"

"Just me," she answered. She had a thick German accent. "Technically I am free to leave my cell. It is not locked. But I have been trying to find my way out of Endloser Palast for over a month now. I keep coming back so I don't starve. I mark the corridors I have been in, but then she has the walls fixed. She is a monster. Do you think this person knows the way out?"

No one spoke again, not sure whether they should answer her or not. "Who are you?" Ginji asked, his voice friendly. He released the bars and tumbled to the floor, leaving his tare form.

"My name is Breda Klemmer," the woman told him. There was a sound of a cell door opening, and then the sound of footsteps. A face appeared in front of the barred window. She was a young woman, her face long and cheeks slightly sunken in. Her eyes were dark, and from what Ban could see of her hair it was dark brown with a small braid framing either side of her face. "I was hired by Wilhelm long ago, and then she fired me and sent me to the dungeon. A month ago she freed me, but never told me the way out."

Ban examined her face through the bars. "Do you know what 'Solomon' is?" he asked her. "She gave all of her birds Bible names, so I am thinking some kind of bird. She said she was going to send us in to play with Solomon."

Breda gasped, and her face disappeared from the window. "Solomon is not a bird," she said quickly. "He is Wilhelm's son."

"You mean _she_ has a kid?" Himiko cried out, surprised. Ban didn't blame her, after the way Wilhelm had treated her. However, he was surprised to find how much the news unnerved him personally.

Breda nodded, appearing in the window of the cell again. "Don't hurt Solomon," she said quietly, pleading. "He is a good boy. He doesn't control what he does. He is just frightened. Wilhelm has been mistreating him." She took in a deep, shuddering breath. "I was employed as his nanny. I came with Wilhelm from Germany when Solomon was just a little baby. He shouldn't even have been alive. That Amaya person did horrible things to him. I was originally imprisoned for begging Wilhelm to treat him better."

"What can Solomon do?" Ginji asked quietly, still sitting on the floor of the cell and staring up at the window with wide eyes.

Breda shook her head. "I cannot really say. Because of how close I was to him I was never subjected to his power myself, but people who have only had one or two 'sessions' with him have come back completely lifeless. Their minds and souls were gone." Breda looked up again, staring into the cell. "Is she all right?"

"He," Ban, Ginji, and Jubei all corrected her simultaneously. Breda blushed and looked away as Jubei continued to answer her.

"He's fine. Just overheated. It's too hot down here," he responded briskly. "He doesn't handle heat very well."

"I think I have some water left over back in my cell," Breda said. "I will go and check." The sound of footsteps was heard again, then a few moments of silence before Ban could hear them again, approaching the cell. "Is someone in front of the door?"

"I am," Ginji said quickly, getting on his knees and kneeling in front of the slot. It opened, and a dented, silver-colored flask fell into his hands.

"I refill it every time I make a trip upstairs to find the exit," Breda explained. "That water should be pretty cold."

Ginji turned on his knees and handed the flask to Jubei, who felt for the cap and unscrewed it, opening Kadsuki's mouth and pouring some in similar to the way Himiko had that day on the side of the road. Kadsuki swallowed it, and assured that he was going to be fine, Ginji turned on his knees and looked up at Breda again. Ban finished his cigarette and also looked at her.

"So you still don't know the way out?" Ban asked. "How can you find your way back here?"

Breda smiled sadly before turning away again. "There are a lot more doors that lead downstairs than there are doors that lead upstairs. It seems like every door I open is another horrible fairy tale room or leads down here. I have only found one door that leads upstairs. Wilhelm keeps a copy of the floor plan in her bedroom, which is on the third floor. If I can't find my way out, I at least want to find my way up."

Ban opened his mouth to ask their potential ally another question, but before he could the sound of footsteps froze them all in their places. Breda had turned away from the cell to see what was coming. Even Kadsuki, who was only just starting to come to, seemed to sense the anxious tension in the room as he picked up his head to look toward the cell door. Breda began to mutter something frantically in German, and the few words that Ban could hear he identified as being religious. She was praying.

The back of Breda's head disappeared, and in its place appeared the face of one of the guards that had escorted them into the cell. Ban wasn't sure if this one was the German-speaking one or not. They had all looked exactly alike: tall, suit-clad, with square faces, bald heads, and dark sunglasses. The stereotypical mindless bodyguard type. And Ban was about to give Wilhelm credit for being clever...

He could hear the metallic sound of keys jingling together, and then the metallic grating as one was slid into the lock of the cell and turned. With a loud click the door was unlocked. The guard slid it open, and as everyone in the cell quickly filed out Ban could see a second guard opening the other cell door and freeing the others. It seemed too good to be true: two of Wilhelm's guards just freeing them. There had to be a catch.

Ban looked over at Breda for the first time. She was wearing black jeans and a tight black turtle-necked tank top. Combined with the two knives she was holding in her hands, she looked less like a nanny and more like a warrioress of some kind. Leave it to Wilhelm to hire a trained fighter to babysit her only son...

They all circled the pair of guards ominously, knowing they would probably lose in a fight with them but wanting answers anyway. No one spoke, but Ban noticed that both guards were smiling very broadly.

"What gives?" Ban asked in German. It was the only way to check and see if this was the German-speaking guard or not.

The guard looked over at Ban, still smiling. He reached up, and everyone moved their hands toward their respective weapons or got into battle stances. But as they all watched the guard, they gasped as he seemingly pulled off his face and bald head...to reveal a familiar head of wavy, silvery locks. The sunglasses clattered to the floor as the mask was peeled off and discarded. Clayman first smiled warmly at Ban, then turned around to show everyone else that she was, indeed, an ally. A few of them didn't know Clayman, but eased off their weapons when they noticed the others relaxing. All of them looked very confused.

"Clayman-san!" Himiko finally cried, shattering the silence that had fallen over the dungeon. Clayman nodded, and Himiko looked at the other guard. "Then who is this?"

The other guard reached up to his face, peeling off the mask. Long blonde hair spilled out, and again the sunglasses clattered to the floor. After the mask was gone, Hevn quickly reached up to remove the tie she was wearing and discard the suit jacket, unbuttoning the shirt swiftly and heaving a huge breath. "I can finally breathe!" she announced, panting.

Breda was still holding her knives poised for attack. "You know these people?" she asked, sounding very confused.

"This is Hevn-san, our negotiator," Ban said, gesturing to Hevn, who was now fanning her face with her hand. "We are retrieval specialists. And this is Clayman-san." He made a similar gesture toward Clayman. "An acquaintance. Hevn-san came in here with us. I have do idea what Clayman-san is doing here."

Clayman looked over at Hevn. "Hevn-san met Wilhelm Grimm at the café across the street from my gallery. I recognized her and knew if you were going to take a job with her you would end up at Endloser Palast. I didn't want her to find out I was involved so she could set up a trap for me, so I followed you until you ended up here."

"Why follow us, Clayman-san?" Ginji asked, picking up one of the masks and examining it.

Clayman smiled at him as he played with the lifeless piece of rubber. "I wish I could say it was to help you navigate this place, but I am afraid that is only part of the reason. I am not completely familiar with the precise layout of this house, anyway. I was actually hoping if I helped you then you could help me."

"Help you with what?" Emishi asked skeptically. Ban knew that he didn't know Clayman or if she could be trusted or not.

Clayman looked down at her feet, her smile wavering a bit. "One of Wilhelm's men took something very valuable to me a long time ago. I wish to get it back. And you are retrieval specialists, after all."

Ban was eyeing Clayman skeptically. He was hesitant to take another job from her after the last time, but Ginji spoke before he could. "Of course we'll find it for you, Clayman-san!"

Clayman looked up and smiled at Ginji again. "Thank you," she told him sincerely. "What I am looking for is most valuable, and I wouldn't trust anyone else to find it." She then promptly turned around, pushing past Himiko with a friendly "excuse me" and began to walk toward this door. "I came in this way. We can get to Wilhelm's office from here and you can retrieve the manuscript."

"Is that what you are looking for?" Ban asked her as the group followed her from the dungeon. He didn't want yet another person to compete with to find the manuscript.

Clayman shook her head. "No. I thought it was what you were looking for."

"It is," Ban confirmed. He glared at Hevn, who was walking next to him. "Speaking of which, you and I need to have a little talk about that later."

Hevn laughed nervously, but no one bothered to ask why Ban was angry at her.

"Why did you take Hevn-san, though?" Kadsuki asked. He was walking next to Clayman, though from the looks of his walk he still wasn't in top form. Jubei seemed to notice, as he stayed very close behind him.

Clayman pushed open a wooden door at the end of a line of cells, revealing a staircase. "To tell you the truth, I meant to take someone else, but Hevn-san was the only person I could safely and quietly take."

They ascended the staircase quietly after that, Hevn now standing with Ginji and Shido between herself and Ban. Breda was still holding her knives, glancing around at the group she was now in the center of. She had not technically been invited to leave with them, but Ban decided as long as she wasn't actually attacking them then there probably wasn't any harm in letting her come with them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There was a floor between the main floor and the dungeons, a storage basement of sorts with hardwood floors. It was just as mazelike as the main floor, but Clayman seemed to know where she was going as she held open the hidden door of another corridor and motioned them all inside.

They had traveled like this in silence through a few corridors before Clayman abruptly paused.

"What's wrong, Clayman-san?" Ginji asked, but she held up a finger to silence him.

"Listen," she ordered. Everyone did. "Can you hear it?"

It took most of them a moment to finally hear what Clayman was talking about. It started out very faint, but gradually grew louder. A heavy _clomp_, followed by a muted scraping sound, followed by a long, slow, shuffling sound. No one could figure out what exactly the sound was, and they all got ready to fight just in case, Shido looking at Jonah for a moment before he flew off down the corridor. The sound just got louder. The clomping, the scraping, the shuffling...

Jonah flew back to Shido's shoulder then. "It's a person," Shido announced. Everyone looked skeptical. Everyone, that is, except for Clayman and Breda, the former of which was watching the end of the corridor they were standing in with an uncharacteristically angry expression. They were all growing anxious. It was taking an eternity for the clomping, scraping, shuffling person to approach.

Finally, it was right at the fork at the end of the corridor. Finally the figure appeared from the left. A young man, his dark, wavy, cherry-red hair tied back in a loose ponytail, wearing a simple hunter green suit with black tie. The man only had one navy blue eye, his right covered with an eye patch. But what they were all noticing was the source of the peculiar sounds he was making. His left foot would come up briefly, only to fall with a heavy _clomp_ to catch his balance. Then his cane would scrape across the floor, his right arm barely moving as it did. Then he would lean very heavily on it, as his right leg would slowly be dragged up next to his left, producing a shuffling noise. It seemed amazing that he was walking at all, what with the obvious effort it took him to form each step.

"I thought I heard you talking to that woman earlier, but sometimes it's hard to tell the ghosts of my past from any other ghost," the man said, before laughing at his own joke. Only the left side of his mouth opened all the way as he spoke, and when he laughed he only had half a smile. He was only about five steps from the group now, and he stopped, leaning heavily on his good leg, his cane keeping him from falling over to the right. He stopped laughing, but was still smiling as he spoke. "I guess I should have listened to my instincts that time. Oh well. If you were in my home we were bound to meet up sooner or later."

He was looking directly at Clayman as he spoke. She had suddenly gone pale, her green eyes flashing with anger. Ban had never seen her like this, not even she thought her paintings were going to be destroyed.

"Clayman-san, who is this?" Ban asked her softly, sharply.

"'Clayman'?" the man asked. He laughed again. "You see, I _thought_ that was you when I read about the master art thief Clayman in the paper. After all, who else would want to steal paintings that most people believe are fakes? But I decided you were much too soft to be a criminal."

"His name is Naoya Masaharu," Clayman told Ban, ignoring Naoya's comments. She didn't offer any more information.

"So much hostility," Naoya said in the tone of voice one used to reprimand a child. "Is that really any way to treat your big brother, Chieri"

**End of Chapter Six**

*Cue Goo's Stupidity*

Next Chapter of Get Backers: "Sibling Rivalry: the Story of Masaharu and Chieri ". Look forward to it!

Any similarity between anyone living or dead is purely coincidental unless other wise noted.


	7. Sibling Rivalry: The Story of Masaharu a...

Notes- Some of the scenes are flashbacks. They are in no particular order, and I usually give approximate ages of the characters involved during the flashbacks. Hopefully no one gets confused.

Disclaimer- Same as always. GB crew: not mine. OCs: mine.

**Wilhelm's Manuscript**

**Chapter Seven: Sibling Rivalry: the Story of Masaharu and Chieri**

**By A Girl Named Goo**

"So, Chieri, you're finally in high school," Masaharu said, smiling at the girl who was walking next to him. She was tall and lean and not yet developed ("late bloomer", as her mother had put it), her wavy silver hair cut short like a boy's. Only one lock had been allowed to grow long, bound by a gold ornament she usually wore. She was also currently wearing a boys' school uniform. It hung off her lanky frame, making it obvious that it was a hand-me-down. Even though her mother had enough money to afford her new uniforms, she had felt a certain sense of pride from wearing Masaharu's outgrown ones.

Chieri, although she was excited, was walking slow so that she could remain next to Masaharu. He refused to use a wheelchair or a walker or even crutches, choosing instead to walk on his own with his cane. He'd already told her she could go on ahead, but she wanted to stay with him. He was two years older than herself, after all, and knew what she could expect in high school.

"What's it like?" she asked him, once again pausing so that he could catch up to her.

He seemed to think hard about this question. "Harder than junior high. But also more fun. You're really smart so you'll get through your classes just fine." He looked her over with his single dark blue eye, smiling with the half of his mouth that worked. "Now socially, you might have a little problem."

"Why?" Chieri asked, sounding indignant.

Masaharu gestured toward her with his left hand, before quickly reaching over to straighten his right arm again and keep from falling over. "You're wearing a boy's uniform. You're so flat, and with your short hair people will probably think you're a boy. How are you going to get a boyfriend if everyone thinks you're a boy?"

"I don't want a boyfriend," Chieri told him firmly, hitching her school bag up behind her shoulder.

Masaharu glanced at her again, his half-smile growing. "Oh? Chieri, I didn't know that about you. What's your mother going to say?"

Chieri blushed. "What? That-that's not what I meant!" she cried, batting his left arm lightly. "I just don't need a boyfriend."

"Sure..." Masaharu told her, winking at her. She hit his arm again, a little harder this time. He quickly reached over to straighten his right arm to keep from falling again. "All right, all right. I believe you. Just try to be a little easier on me in the future."

They were quiet for a few more minutes. Finally, Chieri looked up at Masaharu again. "Haru?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not really going to tell Mother, are you?"

Masaharu put his left hand on Chieri's shoulder. "Nah, I won't. Now come on. If we waste any more time talking we'll never make it on time."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Your...brother?" Himiko asked, looking at Clayman. Her green eyes had darkened in anger as she glared daggers at Naoya. If looks could kill, then he certainly wouldn't have been standing then. When Naoya started to fall Himiko almost believed Clayman _did_ have the power to kill with her gaze, but he simply reached over with his left hand and straightened his right arm again until it was locked straight once more. The motion seemed automatic.

"He's not my brother," Clayman said, her voice soft as ever, as if she were reassuring Himiko, but it possessed an icy cold edge that ruined the soothing effect.

Naoya reached over and gripped his right arm this time, his half-smile only growing. "Come on, Chieri. I can remember a time where you used to proudly tell everyone I was your brother. Now you're doing everything you can to deny it."

Clayman looked down at the floor, her fists clenching and immediately unclenching as if she had caught herself doing something horrible. "That was then. I was younger and more foolish. If you ever were my older brother, you aren't any longer."

"Wait, I'm confused," Emishi interrupted. Everyone turned to face him, but before they could comment he continued speaking. "Is this guy your brother or isn't he?"

Clayman bit her lip and sighed. "Biologically, no. But we did grow up together. My mother took him in when he was only about six, originally as an apprentice. But he became like a son to her."

Kadsuki looked over at Naoya. "Apprentice? Then that means he's..."

"A medium, yes," Naoya finished, finally releasing his right arm, content that it was going to stay in place. His cane, green-enameled wood with a silver top and tip, began to shake beneath his weight. "It's not so bad, really, once you get used to the fact that you'll never be alone. That you'll see things that no one else possibly can. That sometimes your body isn't your own." His voice got louder and more bitter with each sentence.

"Mother never complained about it," Clayman told him softly. "But you'll never be even half the person she was."

"How the hell would you know what kind of person she was?" Naoya snapped, his eye shining with anger. "You didn't want thing one to do with her! Everything you told me, you said not to tell her! You never spoke to her, never acknowledged her!"

"And I never hurt or betrayed her," Clayman argued.

The cane shook violently again, and again Naoya grasped his right elbow. "You didn't understand what we were, what we could do, what the price of it was. Especially to me! Do you think I like being like this? I am...I am constantly being invaded by _dead people_, and for what? So that half of my body can be completely useless and some outsider can condemn me for what I did? She deserved it! She betrayed me first!"

Clayman shook her head furiously, pulling her hands into fists again. "She didn't betray you. You were just spoiled. You wanted her all to yourself. You wanted to be her child and for me to be the outsider, because that's how you saw things."

"You're damn right it's how I saw it!" Naoya confirmed. "And if you asked anyone else, they would have agreed! We were both mediums, and you were off in your own little world, looking at your pretty picture books and playing with that damn clay! You said you wanted to be an artist. What would your mother say now if she knew you were a criminal?" His half-smile grew sadistic. "I know! How about we get her here and ask her?"

"No!" Clayman suddenly cried out, raising one of her fists. She looked at her current position, horrified by her actions, and lowered her hand again. She wasn't a violent person, and no matter how angry she got, she wouldn't hurt a man who had no way of defending himself.

Naoya was laughing, but it was hollow, heartless. Not a drop of amusement in it. "Just as I thought. Soft. You're not a criminal at all. You have the mind, sure, but not the heart." He looked at the others, as if noticing them for the first time. "And who are these people? I thought you didn't like people. Especially men." He continued to laugh. "You know, I never did tell your mother about that. Maybe I should, if you never told her yourself..."

Ban stepped forward now, smoking a cigarette. "You're having fun, aren't you? Standing there, insulting her, because you know she won't do anything. It must make you feel like a big man to know you can get away with that. The only reason she won't do anything is because she knows you're pathetic. We all know you're pathetic, and we're not talking about your body."

Clayman put her hand on Ban's shoulder. "Midou-san, no. This doesn't involve you."

Naoya laughed again. "No no, I want to hear what he has to say." He glared at Ban through his single, narrowed eye. "Nothing? That's what I thought. Go ahead. Ask." He looked at the rest. "Any of you, just ask. I know you're all dying to know." As if to clarify what he was talking about, he released his right arm. His cane began to shake again. "I know you're all just dying to know how this happened."

Although they would never actually ask or admit it, he was right. Not so much because they wanted to know how he became disabled, but more because they were curious about what he had said earlier, about it being connected to him being a medium.

Naoya waited a few moments for any of them to ask, and when no one did he sighed and began to pace as much as his disability would allow him to, occasionally reaching over and gripping his elbow to keep his right arm straight. "I was abandoned or orphaned or I don't know what. All I know is I was raised on the street until I was six. And then it happened. I was hit by a car that never even saw me cross the road." The smile reappeared on his face. "And I died. You can argue it and deny it and throw scientific facts at me, but the fact of the matter is I was dead. No breath, no heartbeat, no brain activity. The doctor had already marked my time of death. And in that time I had already begun to cross over. White light and heavenly voice, the works. Only instead of the heavenly voice, I could hear a lot of voices. Some of them were welcoming me in, others were saying I couldn't come in yet. I was so confused...and then it was over. I just suddenly came back to life." He paused, both in his story and in his pacing, straightening his arm out again. "When I woke up I was terrified. My right eye was gone, and the left side of my head was severely damaged and had left my right side almost completely paralyzed. And I got this feeling that I wasn't alone. I was seeing and hearing and feeling things that I couldn't even begin to understand. I panicked and I screamed. The doctors thought that the brain damage was causing hallucinations, and they were going to drug me. But then someone suggested that I was a medium and that it was the dead that I was seeing and feeling." Naoya suddenly leaned heavily against the paneled wall, his eye pointed downward. "That person managed to get an appointment with the local medium, a woman who was world famous. It took some coaxing, but she came to see me." He laughed then, a hollow, bitter sound. "It was nothing against me. Mediums don't like hospitals. Too much death happens there. Fresh death. Nothing worse than hearing a recently departed soul begging you to tell everyone they are still there." Clayman bristled uncomfortably at this revelation.

Naoya stood up again, a delicate balancing act requiring his good arm and leg and his cane. He was obviously very practiced at manipulating the almost useless half of his body. "So she came to see me. And she must have seen something in me then, or maybe she just pitied me, because when I got out of the hospital she took me to live with her. So I guess the accident was a blessing in disguise. I at least got a home out of it."

Naoya looked up at everyone in the room. No one spoke, unsure of what to say. He made his way over to them, taking a quick, heavy step with his good leg before dragging his cane forward, and then dragging his almost dead leg up next to his cane. It took him quite a while to reach them, and when he got there he put a hand on Clayman's shoulder. "You really haven't changed a bit, Chieri."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chieri had never really liked people. It was just her nature to be solitary, the lone intellectual who preferred to be in her own company, to immerse herself in books rather than conversation. As a result she very seldom went downstairs during the day, when the people showed up to pay her mother to use her abilities on their behalf. But today she'd have to make an exception. Her mother had been ill lately and she knew she would probably want some tea right about now.

She could feel the curious stares of the people gathered in her kitchen and living room as she poured a cup of tea from the kettle on the stove. She didn't have to wonder why they were watching her. Very few people knew that Ikitsuki Reiko (a name the medium had given herself after she had made her services public) had a daughter. They only knew about the boy that sometimes sat in the room with her, and occasionally took on some of her workload. Chieri pointedly ignored them as she poured a second cup, placing it on a tray. Only twelve years old and already so distant...

There were rules in the house. The most important was that Chieri could only go into the "work room" when the door was open. When it was closed she could only come in by invitation. Usually, after the people left, the door never opened. Years ago she'd begged and pleaded to be allowed in during that time. She'd heard her mother talking to Masaharu about her plan to channel famous, long dead artists and let them use her body to paint their final works. Chieri wanted to meet the artists that had inspired her so much in her own artistic aspirations, but her mother had refused or denied that was what she was doing. When she'd asked Masaharu about it he'd only told her to never mind and promptly changed the subject.

Chieri edged her way past the people in the hall who had been whispering. They now went quiet as they watched her pause in front of the closed door with the sign that read "No entrance". The moment she paused there the door opened and an older couple walked out; the woman sobbing hysterically into a handkerchief with the man's arm draped around her shoulders, whispering to her reassuringly. They both looked down at the tea-laden child next to the door quizzically before they resumed their path out of the house. This was not that uncommon a reaction for people who gained contact with departed loved ones with the aid of a medium, so Chieri didn't take it personally. Before the next client could step in she elbowed the door open and made her way inside.

The room was simple, bathed in sunlight from the huge picture windows. There was a fire place, but in the summer heat the fire had been extinguished. A door across the room lead upstairs to the primary work room that her mother used after dark for her own personal reasons. Not even Masaharu went up there unless invited. In this room there were two overstuffed chairs and a long couch. Masaharu was sitting in one of the chairs, rubbing his eye with his good hand, his bad one holding loosely onto the cane by his side. Her mother had leaned over and was rubbing his back lightly. Apparently he had handled the last client. Not being a medium herself, Chieri had always just taken Masaharu's word for it on how physically and emotionally exhausting a job it was.

Chieri placed the tray on the low table between the couch and the chairs, not saying a word. She would have left then, but her mother had looked up from Masaharu to meet her eyes, smiling at her. Chieri couldn't help but feel the thrill of having pleased her mother. There were so few ways they could connect, unlike her mother and Masaharu. But as she looked at the woman's smiling face, at her weary-looking forest green eyes, at her wavy shoulder-length black hair that was streaked with silver, at the lines that appeared around the corners of her mouth and eyes, Chieri couldn't think of an image that could have made her happier.

"You always know just what we need, Chieri," her mother praised, picking up a cup of tea. Masaharu had stopped rubbing his eye and was now watching her. His half-smile appeared, and he reached over and picked up the second cup of tea while her mother continued to speak. "Maybe we should have you tested again. You hardly ever leave your room, yet you seem to have a sixth sense that lets you know exactly what I need."

Chieri played with the ornament in her hair absently and blushed, shaking her head. "I just thought you would like some tea," she said softly. With anyone else she could confidently hold an adult conversation, but when she spoke to her mother she immediately regressed, becoming the child she really was.

The woman reached out to smooth down her daughter's hair and toy with the ornament that Chieri herself had just finished playing with. Chieri couldn't read her mother's tired expression. Although she was usually very good at reading the emotions of others, her mother's always eluded her. Sometimes she wondered if her mother was ashamed of her for not being born a medium or for being such a tomboy when she herself was such a proper woman. Or if her mother ever regretted not spending much time with her and keeping the secrets of her ability from her. Maybe she just worried about her, about her solitary daughter who would rather spend time with her own imagination than with real people. But just when Chieri was about to put her finger on what this illusive emotion that her mother was hiding from her was she felt the hand move away from her hair.

"You run along now," her mother instructed, obviously trying very hard not to sound like she was pushing her away. "Thank you very much for the tea. It truly was just what I needed right now."

Masaharu nodded at Chieri, his smile still in place, as she left the room quietly, once again feeling like the outsider in her own home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Clayman shook off Naoya's hand, and it took him a moment to regain his balance. "That was just uncalled for, Chieri," he snapped, grasping his right elbow to keep his cane from shaking violently. He surveyed the group again, his single eye narrowed angrily. His gaze finally rested on Breda, a look of utmost annoyance crossing her dark features. "You should be careful of what company you keep. All of you," he instructed. Breda made a sound something like a growl. It was enough to make Ginji and Himiko take a step or two away from her.

"Is there a point to all of this?" Breda asked acidly. "You cannot hurt us. You are simply being annoying now."

Ban noticed then that Naoya's thumb was running against the top of his cane suspiciously as the man responded coolly "I am here to resolve some unfinished business. None of you has to stay here. You're all free to go. Wilhelm's guards will find you whether you stand here and defend her or not."

Clayman sighed. "We can just avoid this if you give me what I came here for. I don't want to have to hurt you. Physically or any other way."

Naoya laughed at that. "Chieri, you couldn't hurt a flea. Is it that Dali painting your after? I had my eye on that ever since it showed up in your mother's collection. I am not ready to part with it."

Clayman shook her head. "You don't understand. You never understood entirely. Being a medium was just a job to you. It was different for Mother. She didn't want fame or money. She wanted to help others, living or dead. That's why the paintings are important. You think they were just decorations or a means to make money easily, but they meant a lot to her. You hurt her more than you could ever know."

"She hurt me first!" he snapped back at her. Ban noticed his thumb move across the top of his cane again. That was definitely not normal, especially if that hand took so much effort to manipulate...

Clayman looked Naoya in the eye. "That's not true. You misunderstood her intention. You were spoiled and you betrayed her."

"What exactly did he do?" Kadsuki asked. The exchange was going around in circles, and he'd like to reach a diplomatic solution before, as Naoya warned, Wilhelm's guards arrived. But to do that he'd need all of the details.

"He discredited my mother, and then stole all of her paintings and sold them," Clayman told Kadsuki evenly, not bothering to fill in the details.

Naoya clenched his teeth to spoke, which, added to the fact that only half his mouth opened when he spoke, made his speech sound awkward. "That doesn't even compare to what she did to me first. She raised me, she made me think she cared about me, and then, when it finally mattered, she denied she had anything to do with me!"

"That's not true," Clayman argued. "That's not true."

Ban saw Naoya's thumb run over the top of his cane, this time producing an audible _click_. "Get down!" he shouted, diving to the floor. He grabbed the two people closest to him, which turned out to be Himiko and Clayman, as he did so but the others also followed suit, Jubei grabbing Kadsuki and throwing him down first so that he was on top of him as he fell. Naoya took his cane in his left hand and threw it at the group just as it exploded, sending debris raining down on top of them...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The summer sun couldn't melt the cold feeling in the pit of Masaharu's stomach. The woman who had raised him, trained him, shaped both the man and the medium he was, had refused him. The bitter memory left a vile taste in his mouth, and he spat on the carpet of the sunshine-filled room that he and Reiko had spent hours in. He'd thought they'd become so close in that time...

He remembered sitting in the waiting room, waiting to hear if the woman he had come to care for would make it. She didn't even like cars, but the one time someone had talked her into getting one to handle a job for a recluse and she had been in an accident. He was no stranger to how cruel fate could be, but he didn't think it would be so unkind to him this time. That _she_ would be so unkind to him. The doctor had flagged them over. Or he thought he was flagging both of them over. He'd asked Masaharu for his relation, and he wanted to say son but he just couldn't.

"I'll have to ask," the doctor had said firmly, leading sixteen year old Chieri toward the door. Even then Masaharu hadn't minded. The doctor was just following protocol. He would be allowed in any moment...

"She said that she doesn't have a son," the doctor had said, walking out of the hall. "She said you should leave."

It was like being stabbed in the heart. It had taken everything he had to walk on the bus instead of in front of it. The only that had stopped him was the fact that he probably wouldn't die. With his luck he'd lose his only working side. And then he'd be a prisoner on this Earth. So he'd gone home and into the work room. He stared at the door to Reiko's private work room. He'd only been in it once in his life, when he was a very small boy and she'd been able to carry him up the stairs. She'd stressed the importance of having a room like this, and that he couldn't go in unless invited.

Feeling hurt and defiant, he unlocked the door with the key he knew was hidden beneath the first brick in the fire place. It took him almost twenty minutes to drag himself up the stairs, and when he made it he gazed around the stifling little attic room. There were no curtains, and windows on all of the walls let sunlight stream in. On the walls hung the product of her many hours alone up here. Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Picasso, and his personal favorite: the work of the surrealist Dali. They were all there and more.

Masaharu closed his eyes. He could feel them lingering in the corners, admiring the works. Not the artists. No. They'd been specially channeled. Having completed their works they had moved on. But he could feel the presence and hear the whispering of the spirits who weren't so fortunate that they could leave this world. He opened his eyes to see the pale outlines of many people, looking at the paintings. They didn't seem to notice each other or the medium standing in the center of the room, but all were seemingly speaking their opinions of the works before them out loud.

"Shut up," he said softly. They all turned to look at him, sensing that he was at least partially on the same plane as them. Some of them tried to speak, but he shouted again, louder this time, "shut up!"

The silence was deafening. He'd never been used to total silence. Not since he'd awakened in the hospital so many years ago. It was rather unnerving to him, but he was able to concentrate on the paintings now. He wanted to destroy these posthumous monuments, these testaments to the souls and very beings of the men behind them. He wanted to burn them, to rip them to shreds, to pick up the tubes of oil points on the floor and cover them with blackness.

But he couldn't. Just standing in this room, with these paintings and these deceased art patrons, he knew he was witnessing something much greater than himself. He could no more destroy these paintings than he could destroy himself. They didn't relieve his pain, but instead they put it in perspective. He shouldn't take out his anger on those who could reap joy from the final works of the greatest artists who ever lived. He needed to take his anger out on the one who had caused it.

As he left the work room the voices came again, soft, barely coherent whispers that he could hear all through his long, painful descent down the stairs. He left the main workroom and stood in the hall, picking up the receiver of the old fashioned telephone. Leaning on his cane and balancing the phone between his neck and his ear, he dialed the only number he could think of.

"Hello, police? I would like to report an unstable and potentially dangerous person."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

It seemed like an eternity before the smoke began to dissipate and the bits of plaster stopped falling from the ceiling. They all coughed as they struggled to sit up and wipe the dust from their eyes and make sure everyone was all right. The shattered bits of green enamel had lodged themselves in the wall and in the ceiling, and the air still smelled strongly of gunpowder. Finally climbing to their feet, they all looked at Naoya, who was leaning heavily against the wall without anything to hold him up.

"Why won't you die?" he asked, looking directly at Clayman and breathing heavily, angrily. "At least die like I did, so you can understand me. Understand us. I never got what she saw in you that made her choose you over me."

Clayman, who had regained a great deal of her poise already, brushed pieces of plaster off of her suit, shaking it out of her hair afterwards. "She didn't choose me over you," she said quietly. The others were recovering from their experience now and standing behind her as she spoke. Clayman's eyes were pointed at her shoes. "She didn't want you at the hospital because she knew how hard it was for mediums to be inside them. She was hoping you would understand and go home. She never meant to hurt you."

Naoya shook his head, starting to slide down the wall. "No. You're lying. She wanted to hurt me. She never cared about me."

Clayman shook her head, her hands clenching into fists again. "No, Haru. Before she died she told me that her greatest regret was not letting you make your own choice that day. But she knew you would come in if given a choice. She never blamed you. After you had her committed for evaluation, she never blamed you. After you stole all of the paintings and sold them, she never blamed you. After everyone started believing she was a fraud and she couldn't practice as a medium anymore, she never blamed you. She blamed herself for all of that."

Naoya was on the floor now, shaking his head. "No! That can't be true!"

"You can ask her."

"No!"

Clayman opened her mouth to speak again when she felt someone push past her. Everyone watched as Breda stepped in front of the group, looking down at Naoya contemptuously, knives poised. "You are annoying me," she spat out at him.

Naoya looked up at her, tears running down his single eye. Breda continued to stomp toward Naoya's body.

"Breda! Stop!" Ban shouted at her in German, but it was too late. She raised her knife and plunged it into his neck. His eye flew open wide, his mouth falling open with blood pouring from it. Breda pulled the knife out, bright red blood shining on the silvery metal, gleaming on her dark hand.

Naoya fell to the side, mouth working furiously, trying breathe or speak. The group ran toward him, ignoring Breda as they all gathered around him.

"Someone do something!" Ginji cried out desperately.

"There's nothing we can do," Ban said sadly. "We'd never get someone who is trained in medicine and has the right tools down here in time."

"He's suffering," Kadsuki whispered, watching the man struggle. He looked up at Himiko, noticing her reaching behind her for her bottles of perfume. Taking the top off with her teeth, she waved it in front of his face. His eye closed, and his mouth stopped working.

"Himiko.." Ban whispered, watching her put the top back on the bottle.

"Sleep scent," she said simply. "If we can't help him he shouldn't have to suffer."

Clayman closed her eyes for a moment before turning him onto his back, moving his hands across his chest. She took a white handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the blood off his mouth, covering his neck with it. There were tears in her eyes as she cleaned him up, but when she finished she stood and wiped her hands on her pants.

Everyone else stood when she did, and they all turned to face Breda, her hand still covered in blood but her knives put away.

"What the _hell_ did you do that for?!" Emishi cried out, voicing what was on everyone else's mind.

"He attacked us," Breda said simply. "And he was annoying. He wanted us to die. It was self-defense."

"He was on the floor crying and he couldn't walk. I'd hardly call that self defense," Ban shot back at her.

Breda shrugged and started to walk away, but suddenly froze in the path. "Aren't you coming?"

"We're not going anywhere with you," Kadsuki told her evenly. "You can find your own way out."

"Wait," Clayman said. They all looked at her. She was still looking sadly at Naoya's body. "Do you know where his room is?"

Breda shrugged. "I couldn't be that far. He obviously couldn't get very far on his own."

Clayman nodded and walked in the direction that he had come from. The others paused for a moment, watching her, before they followed her. She began pushing on the walls as she walked until one finally gave under her hand. No one else entered behind her as she disappeared.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Chieri..."

"Yes, Mother?"

Reiko reached up slowly, weakly and put her hand on her daughter's cheek. She was smiling softly as she did, the sunlight filtering through the windows scattered around the room making the silvery highlights in her hair shine.

"You're such a good girl," she said. "You always know just what I need."

Chieri took her mother's hand. "I'm here, Mother. I'll do anything you ask."

Reiko nodded, looking across the room at a spot on the wall. "Chieri, it won't be long now."

"Mother, please, don't talk that way..."

"It's true. I am not afraid of dying, Chieri. All my life I could see death. I could communicate with the dead. I know what lies beyond and I don't fear it."

Chieri blinked back tears. "But I don't want you to leave me, Mother."

Reiko shook her head. "You don't need me anymore, Chieri. You never really needed me. It was me who needed you. But Chieri, there is something I want you to do for me."

"Anything, Mother," Chieri said firmly. She squeezed her mother's hand to let her know she meant what she had said.

Reiko nodded. "If you see Masaharu again, you need to tell him that I don't blame him."

"Mother-"

"It wasn't his fault. I should have let him make a choice that day. I thought I was protecting him, and instead I hurt him. Everything he did he did out of the pain my actions caused him. You need to tell him that I understood this, and that he was my son. My greatest regret in my life was never saying it, and not letting him see me that day."

Chieri nodded, swallowing hard. "I will tell him."

Reiko's grip on Chiei's hand slackened. "That's good. There are things more important to me than those paintings, Chieri. I know you feel personally hurt by the loss of them, that the thought of them being lost or destroyed breaks your heart, but you have to understand that this isn't about those paintings or my career. It's about Masaharu and his feelings."

Yes. I understand," Chieri said softly. "And I will tell him if I see him."

Reiko smiled again. "You're such a good girl, Chieri. Just remember that even after I leave this world, I won't be gone. Although you can't see me or speak to me, I will still be watching over you."

Chieri nodded. "I will remember, Mother."

And with those words, Reiko's eyes slid shut, the smile never fading from her face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Clayman finally left the room there were tears sliding down her cheeks. However, she was very quiet as she gently shut the door, clutching something to her. She looked up at the group, who had been waiting expectantly for her, and smiled softly. "I've got it."

"What about the painting, Clayman-san?" Ginji asked. "Isn't that what we were supposed to help you find?"

Clayman shook her head. "No. He wanted that painting. He can keep it. There are some things that are more important than those paintings." She looked down at what she was clutching against her and pulled it away from her body. It was a book, green with a silver decorative border. She opened it and removed a picture from it, examining it and handing it to Ban, who was at the front of the group. The others crowded around to look at the photograph.

It had been taken outdoors, on some kind of deck, and appeared to have been professionally done. Sitting in a chair was a woman wearing a simple but elegant emerald green dress, her hair shoulder-length and falling in black waves touched with silver. Her green eyes looked worn but proud. Leaning against the chair from one side was a younger Naoya, his half-smile genuine, his cane simple and black. He was wearing a green school blazer and black tie as he leaned against the chair, his hair tied back and his dark blue eye large and reflecting happiness. Leaning against the chair from the other side was a tall, lanky girl in a similar outfit. If one just barely glanced at her they might have thought her a boy, for her wavy silver hair was cut short. Only one stand had been allowed to grow long, and it was clasped with a gold ornament. Her green eyes were bright with youthful energy, and she was smiling broadly.

"Clayman-san?" Himiko asked, looking between the picture and the woman in front of her.

Clayman nodded and took the picture back, putting it back in the book. "They were the only pictures we had of our childhood, and he took them when he left. This is what I wanted to get back. And I also wanted to give him Mother's message."

"As touching as I find all of this- and believe me, my heart has been completely warmed over- I am afraid I will have to end your moment," a thickly accented feminine voice announced. Everyone turned around in time to see Wilhelm round the corner, followed by several of her guards. "Did you really have to kill Naoya? I didn't like him much, but that was just overkill."

"I thought you were going to rest," Ban observed, not feeling amused in the least.

Wilhelm shrugged. "So did I. But then Naoya called up to my room and told me to send some guards. I thought it was a matter I should handle personally." She surveyed them all again with her harsh violet eyes. "Your little group seems to have gotten larger. Breda, I should have known you were behind Naoya's injury."

Breda glared at Wilhelm, holding her knives again. One was still covered with blood. "I've been here long enough. Let me go."

Wilhelm shook her head. "No, you seem awfully fond of your little friends here. You can stay with them and if they leave, you can leave." She moved her gaze to Clayman. "You are the owner of that gallery I made a donation to recently."

"Oh really?" Clayman asked mildly.

Wilhelm nodded, smiling. "Under the name Katrin Blauvelt."

Clayman nodded. "I know who you are. I never cashed your check."

"Your loss," was the simply reply. Wilhelm motioned to her guards, who walked back around the group again. "Apparently the dungeon couldn't hold you. I was going to only hold you long enough to gloat to my dear cousin Jakob, but since you insisted on being this way then I have something special planned for all of you." She smiled sadistically and looked at the guard stand closest to her. "Take them to Solomon's room."

**End of Chapter Seven**

Quick Note- Before anyone asks, I don't know what Clayman's real name is so I made one up. Considering I don't know her name, it's highly unlikely I'd know her mother's so obviously that is made up as well. Also, I had to fire my beta reader. I re-read this a few times and ran a spell check, but I really need a new beta reader. If you're interested, let me know in the review section, get on AIM with me (AGirlNamedGoo278), or e-mail me at goo@puddleofgoo.com. For those who haven't been yet, there are now bios for the characters in Wilhelm's Manuscript at (in the fics section).

*Cue Goo's Stupidity*

Next Chapter of Get Backers: "The Boy with the Evil Eye". Look forward to it!

Any similarity between anyone living or dead is purely coincidental unless other wise noted.


	8. The Boy with the Evil Eye

Disclaimer- I still don't own Get Backers. I just like to take the characters out for a spin every once in a while.

**Wilhelm's Manuscript**

**Chapter Eight: The Boy With the Evil Eye**

**By A Girl Named Goo**

"Um...if anyone has an idea, right now would be a _really_ good time to put it in action," Emishi announced as they were lead down yet another corridor. Wilhelm wasn't with them, but somehow the guards surrounding them knew their way around the labyrinth.

No one said anything, although Clayman, Kadsuki, and Ban all seemed to be deep in thought, pondering their current situation and trying to find a way to get out of it. "Trying" was the operative word in this case, as it was very hard to think on a moment's notice with a gun being pointed at your back by men that were immune to anything you could try to do to them.

They were all herded rather roughly up a staircase that had been concealed by a wall, Himiko once letting out a surprised yelping sound as a gun was jammed into her back. She reached behind her for her bottles of perfume, but Clayman gently pulled her hand away from them, shaking her head. Himiko understood what she meant: if she tried to attack, the guards would fire and things would get messy. 

As they were manuevered through still more corridors, fear started to subside and annoyance had started to set in. This seemed to be a common reaction to anything that Wilhelm Grimm did. Ban wondered if she knew that letting people dangle for too long just ruined the frightening effect. Chances are even if she did know she didn't care.

Another door was opened, and everyone prepared to be lead down still another corridor. Instead the guards gathered around the door, gesturing with their guns for the group to walk in. They all hesitantly walked into the room, Ban lingering behind for a moment before he was shoved in by the butt of a gun. Before he could turn around to see who had done it the door was slammed shut and locked with an audible _click_.

"Well, that's reassuring," Emishi noted, looking at the door. Everyone else turned around to look at the door as well. There was no doorknob, and it had been painted to match the decor of the wall. 

The lighting in this room was sparse, but enought to see the murals on all of the walls. They were several gruesome scenes from fairy tales, of the little girl in Juniper Tree recoiling in horror as her brother's head fell to the floor; of Bluebeard's wife opening the door to a room to see a huge vat of blood and the corpses of his other wives hanging above it; of the devil chopping off the hands of the farmer's daughter; of the sister in Twelve Brothers being burnt at the stake; a particularly graphic depiction of the wolf in Little Red-Cap eating the grandmother...the horrible murals only seemed to get worse the closer to the small, neatly-made bed they got. Directly above the bed was a verse:

mein Mutter, der mich schlacht,   
mein Vater, der mich aß,  
mein Schwester, der Marlenichen,   
sucht alle meine Benichen,  
bind't sie in ein seiden Tuch,  
legts unter den Machandelbaum.  
Kywitt, kywitt, wat vör'n schöön Vagel bün ik!

Ban's eyes fixed on the mural for a moment before he began to translate it outloud. "'My mother, she killed me. My father, she ate me. My sister, little Marlenichen, gathered together all my bones, tied them in a silken hankerchief, laid them beneath the juniper tree, kywitt kywitt what a beautiful bird am I.'"

No one else spoke. They continued to survey the room instead. On the carpeted floor were many kinds of toys scattered about. At first they appeared to be strewn around at random, but upon closer examination there was obviously a pattern: one pile was all dolls and stuffed animals, one was all boats and cars, one was all cards and board games, one was all books, et cetera. A further examination showed that the toys were further organized by their color. In the center of the room were several papers and crayons spread out. The papers were covered in seemingly shapeless doodles that everyone in the room knew probably weren't all that they seemed at first glance.

Finally their group survey of the room ended as all of their eyes locked on the corner. They almost missed him at first. His form was so tiny and he seemed to disappear into the shadows. He was wearing all black and hugging his knees to him, and with his head down his ebony hair blended in with his outfit. Only a tiny pair of very pale hands gave away that the dark little ball in the corner was a person.

"Is that...?" Ginji asked, letting the question dangle.

"I think so," Ban said.

Breda nodded in response to the question. "Solomon?" she asked softly.

A pale face appeared above the dark knees. He was obviously Wilhelm's son. His features were softer from childhood, but he had the same basic shape to his face and his hairstyle was pretty close to her's. His left eye was also the same amythest color as his mother's. But what caught Ban's attention was his right eye. It was gas flame blue, and oddly familiar to him..

Breda had begun to approach him, but the boy said something in German that froze her in her tracks. "Was sagten Sie?" she asked him softly.

The boy swallowed and looked at the group of now eleven people around him. "Bleiben Sie weg!" he screamed, covering his face.

"What did he say?" Himiko asked, standing next to Ban now.

"To stay away," Ban translated. A bad feeling suddenly washed over him.

"Ich will Sie verletzen," Kadsuki said, and the boy looked up at him, horrified. Breda also looked shocked, and Ban looked at the other man with annoyance.

"Nicht," Ban said after a few moments where Kadsuki seemed clearly confused. "You forgot to say 'nicht'. You just told him you wanted to hurt him."

Kadsuki suddenly turned pale. "Can't you fix it?"

Ban shrugged. "I can try." He looked down at Solomon again. "Wir wollen Sie nicht verletzen."

Solomon shook his head. Ban tentively stepped closer, causing the boy to jump to his feet. "Berühren Sie mich nicht!"

"He said not to touch him," Ban announced to everyone behind him before turning around and looking down at the boy again. "Ich will Sie nicht verletzen."

"Lügner!" Solomon shouted.

"I'm not lying," Ban said in Japanese, before catching himself and translating what he'd said.

"Lügner!" Solomon screamed, and Ban suddenly realized the look in his blue eye was a very familiar one. Only he realized it a moment too late...

"Don't look in his eye!" Ban screamed, but before everyone could heed his advice they suddenly felt themselves being pulled somewhere else...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Himiko slowly climbed to her feet, looking around at her surroundings. They seemed so familiar: a small kitchen bathed in sunlight. A door that lead outside and another that lead to the hallway. Just out of curiosity she looked down at herself. Her chest was smaller, and she was wearing a loose-fitting, pale T-shirt. Ban had always teased her about it, how it did nothing to compliment her "figure". Ban...

Himiko was suddenly overcome with the urge to find Ban. There was something she needed to tell him and Yamato. She excitedly ran to the hallway, throwing open the door. "Ban! Aniki!" she cried out...and then she froze in her tracks. 

Ban was standing over Yamato's lifeless body, his hand covered in blood that obviously came from the gaping wound in the center of her brother's chest. She blinked in disbelief. How could he?! How could he betray them that way?! She wanted to shout those things at him, wanted to attack him, wanted to make him pay.

Instead she only screamed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kadsuki could feel the flames surrounding him, singing his kimono, burning his hands as he attempted to shield his face. Where was his mother? Where was....a hand extended toward him through a break in the flames, and he grabbed it desperately, allowing himself to be pulled to the other side. Jubei urgently beat off a few small flames that had sprouted on his kimono.

"This way!" he shouted, pulling Kadsuki through the flames and the carnage around them. Kadsuki was crying now, trying not to look around him, trying to focus on Jubei leading him out to safety. But he couldn't just leave everyone and run like a coward...

Kadsuki shook out of Jubei's grip. "Mother!" he shouted, running back toward the flames. He ran toward the main house, Jubei close behind him.

"Kadsuki!" Jubei shouted, trying to catch up to him. But it was no use: Kadsuki was faster, and a building had just exploded, barring his way with wreckage.

"Mother!" Kadsuki shouted. Finally he caught a glimpse of her, standing in front of the main house. Her bells were poised in her hand, and she was concentrating on something in the distance. Kadsuki ran up to her and grabbed her side, recoiling slightly as her kimono started to fall apart in his hand.

"Run away, Kadsuki," she told him calmly, looking down at him.

Kadsuki shook his head and looked up at her again, more tears springing to his eyes. "No Mother! I can't run away! I can't leave you alone!" he told her firmly.

She shook her head at him. "You have to protect our family line," she told him.

Kadsuki tried to grab her kimono again. This time it didn't fall apart. "But where will I go?" he choked out.

"To Mugenjyou," she said simply. She began to walk away and Kadsuki's grip on her kimono slipped.

"Wait! Mother, don't!" Kadsuki screamed, but before he could run after her a hand grabbed his wrist.

"Come on! We have to get out of here!" Jubei told him urgently, running in the opposite direction of where Kadsuki's mother had went.

"No! Wait!" Kadsuki screamed. "Mother! No!'

Kadsuki finally managed to shake out of Jubei's grasp and turn around...in time to see the building his mother had gone in collapse. He screamed as Jubei pulled him closer to him to shield him from the red-hot ashes that spread in the wake of the collapsing structure. Kadsuki was sobbing as he released him, but Jubei only took his hand and began to run again, leading them both far away...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The night was alive with the din of buzzing insects, peircing whistles, wounded animals crying out in pain, and humans shouting and screaming. Shido could ignore painful beestings and horsefly bites. He could dodge the wasps and even shake off the spiders attempting to crawl up his legs. But it pained him more than anything to watch his dearest friends, human or otherwise, falling around him, knowing there was nothing he could do.

Shido heard a pained moan from near him and ran over to the source of it. A man, not much older than himself, someone he recognized, someone who had grown up with him and faced the same hardships, now lie on the ground. Tiny but probably poisonous spiders crawled out of his pantlegs and headed toward Shido, but with a whistle a flock of birds swooped down to pick them off one by one.

The man looked at Shido pitifully, his breathing shallow. His eyes suddenly rolled back and his breathing ceased. Shido looked down at the dead man for a moment, then back up. Standing at the mouth of the forest as the man he knew as Higumono Kirihito. He clenched his teeth and his fists, and summoning up his last dregs of energy, ignoring the insects stinging his skin viciously, he charged his opponent with everything he had....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ban blinked, feeling slightly dazed. He had hoped that by using his jagan at the same time as Solomon he could cancel out the effect. The moment he realized that the boy had it he also realized it was weaker. It had more limitations, and was also less powerful, seeing that it was only in one eye. That in and of itself was a rarity, and it actually frightened Ban. Being that the Evil Eye was a metaphysical condition, one either had it or they didn't. Where they got it might differ, but that basic rule remained the same. The only way a curse could be weakened in someone was if another curse of equal or greater power were used on the same person.

Ban examined his surroundings. He slowly realized he was still in Solomon's room. However, everyone else was gone, as were all of the toys. The murals were far less garish. Crouched in the corner, crying, was Solomon, his tiny body shaking with each violent sob.

"Solomon?" Ban asked, softly, daring to approach the boy. At first Solomon shrunk away from him, but looking up into the man's eyes with his own tear-filled ones he stopped making an effort to get away from him.

"Don't touch me," he told Ban, though he sounded uncertain. Solomon suddenly began to fade away, and Ban turned around. The bed was replaced by a hospital bed, and a man was standing in front of it. Ban examined this sudden addition to the scene. The man seemed vaguely familiar, his shoulder-length black hair slightly wavy, broad shoulders making his body seem wider beneath his white coat.

"How is he?" a familiar, thickly-accented voice asked, and Ban looked at the doorway of the room. Wilhelm Grimm was standing there, her face worn and worried. Instead of wearing her suit she was wearing a violet silver nightgown and untied black housecoat.

The man looked up at her, and Ban immediately recognized him from his narrow silver eyes. This was Amaya Hajime, back when he was healthier. Amaya was holding a long syringe in his hand, and he roughly thrust the needle into the arm of the tiny boy in front of him, who couldn't have been much older than two years old. The boy cried out, but Amaya ignored him as he emptied the contents of the syringe into his arm.

"He'll be fine," Amaya reported. "Although it might be close for a while. I'll keep an eye on him."

The figures in front of them disappeared, and Ban turned around. Solomon was standing behind him, grasping his arm and crying.

"That man hurt you?" Ban asked.

Solomon nodded and pulled up the black sleeve of his shirt. It was covered in scars, some of them long and deep, others tiny indents like pockmarks. He let his sleeve fall back into place, and Ban was suddenly full of hatred for Amaya Hajime. The man experimented on and tortured children. He turned men into machines and claimed it was a miracle. And then he had the audacity to request that Ban end his life, as if he deserved to have his suffering cut short, not to mention the memories that request had dug up.

Ban looked around. The hospital bed was gone again, replaced by Solomon's bed once again. The murals reappeared, as did the toys and the writhing bodies of the group he had come in with. Only Jubei was still on his feet, asking feebly what was going on. The rest were finally coming out of the spell the Evil Eye had cast on them, slowly climbing to their knees and their feet.

Kadsuki looked up at Jubei, then down at his hands in horror. They were burned just as badly as they had been that night. Kadsuki threw himself against Jubei, sobbing into his chest, and as he did this Ban noticed with shock that several members of the group were injured. Shido was covered in swelling insect stings and bites, Ginji looked inexplicably worn out, Emishi seemed to be nursing some kind of wound on his abdomen that was covered by his clothes, and even Breda was covered in cuts that were bleeding profusely, eyes wide with shock. Hevn was sobbing in the corner, and Himiko had run over to a corner where a small trash can was set up and was now vomiting between sobs, Clayman standing up and ignoring her own tear-filled eyes as she went to attempt to comfort her. Only Jubei and Akabane looked unphased, Jubei having been immune to the Evil Eye because of his blindness and Akabane....well, if the vision he'd had had affected him in any way he was doing a good job of hiding it.

"My, that was fascinating," Akabane said with a smile, looking down at the boy in the corner. Ban made sure he was between Solomon and Akabane, although he doubted Akabane would try anything with him.

"Ban-chan?" Ginji asked weakly, looking up at Ban pleadingly.

Ban looked down at Solomon, then at his fallen partner. "I'm going to make her pay for this," he announced.

"Who?" Ginji asked.

"Wilhelm Grimm. She knew he has the Evil Eye, and she never taught him how to control it. She let a madman torture him, and then she used him and made her think he's a monster," Ban explained. "Her own son..."

Ban looked up and around the room again. Jubei was trying to examine Kadsuki's burnt hands as gently as he could, which was more difficult than it sounded because he had to rely on touch. Emishi seemed to have recovered and was trying to get up again, supporting himself on the bed. Himiko had stopped vomiting and was now giving Ban a look that he could have swore burned into his skin. Clayman was still standing next to her, the tears in her eyes gone. Hevn seemed to have finished sobbing, and Shido seemed to be ignoring his obvious painful injuries as he stroked Jonah's breastfeathers, and Ginji was slowly pulling himself to his feet as well. The only one who wasn't getting up or recovering was Breda, who had her shocked expression frozen onto her face.

"But Ban-chan, when you use it no one gets hurt like this," Ginji argued. He was standing now, but he promptly fell back on the bed.

Ban shook his head and lit a cigarette. "He doesn't make new dreams from whole cloth. He brings back memories in a way so powerful the mind remembers the physical as well as the emotional pain. If that's the case then the body can't help but follow the mind because technically it's real." Ban sighed. "If I wanted to I could do that, but most of the time I aim to distract and disable, not to hurt."

"S-Solomon?" Breda asked, looking at the boy on the floor. Solomon, who had covered his face, lowered them to look at her. "Solomon..." she said again. Suddenly, she darted to her feet and lunged at him, knives in hand. Ban grabbed arm and swung her around, forcing her back onto the floor rather roughly. Her knives slipped from her grip, and she made no motion to retrieve them. Her eyes were wide and blank as she stared at the floor, as if there were something immensely interesting there.

Jubei finished assessing the damage to Kadsuki's hands and pulled a white needle out of the sheath on his glove, preparing to ease the pain of the injury. He was about to begin working on Kadsuki's hands when a loud, ear-piercing shriek froze him to the spot. Everyone else looked over at Solomon, who had begun to ramble frantically in German.

"He's afraid of needles," Ban explained, dropping his cigarette and stepping it out.

"I have to do this now or his hands will scar," Jubei warned, running the needle across Kadsuki's left hand, occasionally stopping to slide it into his skin.

Kadsuki shook his head. "Jubei, no. It can wait until later. I don't want him to panic again. We don't know what else he can do."

Jubei looked like he was going to object, but with a sigh of resignation he put the needle back where he had gotten it. Solomon looked at him from between his hands and stopped shouting, as if a switch had been flipped. One moment he was panicking, the next he was completely relaxed. Ban regarded the boy with curiosity, and the boy seemed to analyze him in return.

"We have to get out of here," Emishi announced after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. Everyone else gave half-hearted gestures or responses in the affirmative. Ban walked over and looked at the door, sizing it up mentally. He knocked on it, and satisfied that it gave a hollow, wooden sound he motioned for the others to stand back. Then he proceeded to kick it in.

"One problem solved," Ban announced. "Now let's finish the job and get the hell out of here."

Ginji was up and walking again, and with some coaxing from Emishi Breda was also back on her feet. No one bothered to pick up her knives for her. Kadsuki had released his grip on Jubei and wiped away his tears, his face now a mask of stony resolve. The only evidence that he had been crying was that his eyes were red. As they all filed out of the room Kadsuki suddenly paused.

"What about him?" he asked, gesturing toward Solomon.

"Leave him," Emishi suggested, rubbing his abdomen to indicate the pain that the boy had caused him.

"No. We're taking him with us," Ban announced. He looked into the room at the boy and said something in German. He looked confused for a moment, but slowly Solomon climbed to his feet and walked over to Ban.

"You can't be serious. What are we going to do with him?" Emishi asked.

Ban shrugged. "Get him away from his mother."

"And then what?" Ginji asked, out of genuine curiosity rather than to point out the flaws in Ban's logic.

"Then I don't know, but let's just take this one step at a time, all right? We get the manuscript and we find the exit. Wilhelm only said that she found Kadsuki's string. With any luck she didn't catch Himiko's tracking scent. And if we have to we'll kick the walls in and make our own way out." Ban looked around the hall. "But right now we need to find Wilhelm's office...."

"I know where it is," Breda said softly. Everyone turned to face her, and she drew in a deep breath before speaking. "It's one of the points I memorized. I thought that knowing where her office was would be a key to finding the way out." She looked around as well. "Solomon's room is on the fourth floor, as is Wilhelm's room. I know how to find the way to the third floor, where her office is, but if we can find her room we'll find the master map."

Clayman stepped up to the wall across from the door to Solomon's room. "We should find the map. That way if the tracking scent has been eliminated we can still find our way back out."

Ban sighed, then nodded. "This is turning out to be far too complicated for a simple retrieval job..."

**End of Chapter Eight**

Goo's Notes: Still no beta reader. Any volunteers? And sorry this chapter is so short and took so long to get out, but I am back in school now. Next chapter is the last chapter of "Wilhelm's Manuscript". The good news? "Wilhelm's Manuscript" is the first story in a trilogy I have planned! Rejoice!


	9. Showdown! Jakob vs Wilhelm

Disclaimer- For the last time in this story, GB ain't mine. Just the OCs.

Goo's Notes- I forgot "Goo's Stupidity" at the end of the last chapter, but oh well. Probably just as well that I don't give away anything about the ending before I have to, not even the title. If you haven't been yet, is the official home of Wilhelm's Manuscript and the other two stories in this trilogy, as well as character bios on each of the OCs. (Trust me: a little later, you'll be glad for the reference. I don't want to say I am going to be overdoing the OCs, but sometimes people have trouble keeping track of them, especially since by the end there will be three stories worth of OCs to keep straight.)

Wilhelm's Manuscript

Chapter Nine: Showdown! Jakob vs. Wilhelm

By A Girl Named Goo

Beta'd by Magical Mage

"So tell me, Hevn, when did you plan on telling us that we were working against each other?" Ban asked as they entered yet another corridor. Himiko was using her tracking scent to make sure they didn't go down the same corridor twice, since it seemed to be the only thing they could do without Wilhelm noticing.

Hevn rubbed the back of her head nervously, making sure she was standing between Shido and Akabane. It said something about how angry Ban seemed when Hevn would rather leave her back exposed to Akabane. "That's not it....exactly. Two people came to me, one named Karl Hamrich and one named Katrin Blauvelt. They both claimed to be from the German Historical Society and they both were willing to pay a lot of money for the same thing. I figured since the manuscript would end up in the same place in the end then I would just get a little....insurance."

"Insurance?" Ban asked skeptically.

Hevn was clearly flustered now. "I trust you to get it back, but you're not exactly lucky with money. I wanted to make sure I got paid this time. Besides, you're forgetting not everyone here is a retrieval specialist. I've also hired couriers to transport the manuscript."

Ban nodded. "Right. So how long did it take you after we escaped the hotel to figure out you endangered us all by hiring half of us out to Jakob and half of us out to Wilhelm?"

"What?" Ginji asked. "Ban-chan, who is working for Jakob?"

"We are," Ban said simply. Greeted by quizzical expressions, he held up the bar of soap Goshoku Kusakiko had given him and handed it to Ginji. "Smell that."

Ginji did as he was told, sniffing a couple of times before putting it in Kadsuki's burnt but outstretched hand. Kadsuki also inhaled it deeply, then handed it back to Jubei.

"Hamrich," Jubei said simply, handing the soap back to Kadsuki to give to Ban.

"Exactly," Ban said. "When we first met him Ginji said he smelled funny, and neither of us could place what the scent was. Then back at the hotel Goshoku Kusakiko gave this to me. She said it's made with herbs only she can grow. Amaya Hajime was repaying a debt to Jakob Grimm, so obviously he had access to their soap-making ingredients."

"Why would he want soap?" Ginji asked, the pieces starting to come together in his mind.

Ban lit a cigarette. "Dynamite," he said.

The pieces clicked in Kadsuki's mind. "Glycerine is a compound in making soap. It's in nitroglycerine, an explosive."

"Exactly," Ban confirmed. "The scent probably came from having to steal the glycerine so no one in the hotel would know he planned to make a bomb. Just because they owed him a debt didn't mean he could trust them. Also, stealing it from there he made sure he didn't have to get any of his contacts involved and risk exposing his plan to anyone, namely to Wilhelm."

"And the paper he showed us...?" Kadsuki asked.

Ban shrugged and tapped the ashes from the end of his cigarette. "It was a bluff. He took for granted none of knew German. He lucked out in that I didn't see it, but near as I can tell it was probably some arbitrary German document or from one of the two contacts he must have had: one in America to notify him when the boat with the manuscript would reach Yokohama, and one here in Japan to get the bomb on the boat before it reached shore."

"Then how did Wilhelm find out?" Jubei asked, the picture finally becoming clear to him (metaphorically speaking) as well.

Ban dropped his cigarette and stepped it out. "Hevn," he told him.

"What?! I didn't tell her anything! I didn't want her to know you were working for Hamrich!" she cried out in her defense.

"No, I think I know what he means," Clayman told her, picking up the pace so she was walking next to her now. "Half of you were employed to Jakob and half to Wilhelm. Jakob set up a trap to catch Wilhelm's retrieval specialists, but he didn't expect the ones he employed and the ones she employed to be represented by the same person, or that their paths would meet where he created the trap. Wilhelm surely knew he was going to detain her retrieval specialists, but when he accidentally trapped his own as well she saw an opening to intercept the manuscript."

"Exactly," Ban confirmed. "Jakob might be good at bombs and bluffs, but he's not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. Wilhelm is much more intelligent. While he was caught in a trap of his own design she noticed an opportunity and seized it."

"My, that is very impressive," Akabane mused, the obvious traces of a smile tingling his voice. Ban wasn't sure whether Akabane was talking about Jakob and Wilhelm's strategy and cunning or if he was referring to Ban's skills of deduction. He also didn't really care.

"I think this is it," Himiko interrupted, pushing open a door. The group paused around her as the door came open. Inside was an extravagant room. A huge picture window took up a large portion of the wall in a similar fashion as her office. In the center of the room was canopy bed with black bedspread and violet sheer curtains. Around the room were various pieces of dark antique furniture and musical instruments. The sun coming up was the only light in the room.

"I thought she said she was going to bed?" Emishi asked, looking around the room.

"Apparently she lied," Ban muttered. "Now let's find this map and get it over with."

The group dispersed, Ban leading Solomon over to the bed and sitting him down, and began to open various pieces of furniture with no regard for the contents as they were strewn throughout the room. After about ten minutes the map was still no where to be found (and Shido had to slap more than one pair of panties out of Emishi's hand before sending him to the opposite side of the room from the underwear drawer).

"Ban-chan, is this it?" Ginji asked. He was holding up a black cardboard tube. Everyone stopped in their searching and turned to face him as Ban took it from his hand, popping the top off and extracting a sheaf of neatly-rolled papers.

Crouching onto the floor, he unrolled the papers so that the top one was now visible. "Bingo!" he announced standing up and holding the papers in front of him. "A map of every floor of the house. We'll be out of here in no time."

"You really are getting to be more trouble than your worth," an exasperated voice said from the direction of the open door. Although they didn't have to turn around to realize who it was, they all turned to face Wilhelm as a sign of acknowledging her presence. "It was very cute when you wandered around my home trying to get back my manuscript. It was even cuter when you managed to find more friends and escape my dungeon. But I am afraid I must draw the line at kidnapping my son and ransacking my bedroom." She pretended to examine her fingernails. "I'll bet you are all feeling wonderful now, aren't you?"

Ban noticed then that, along with her tie and blazer, her glasses were gone. Was it because Solomon had already used his Evil Eye that she had removed them? It didn't matter why she didn't have them, though. The point was they were gone, which was a good thing. A useful thing. Sighing, she smiled and turned her gaze back to the group. "Well, if you will just follow me to my office-"

"Why should we do anything you say?" Emishi snapped. "You're alone and outnumbered. You didn't expect us to come in here. Your guards are no where to be found-" Emishi suddenly stopped talking as he felt something on the back of his neck. Everyone looked at Breda, her eyes blank as she held the tip of her knife up to the back of his neck. Unsure of what else to do, Emishi raised his hands into the air.

"You should know better than to trust complete strangers," Wilhelm said mockingly, grinning. The guards were appearing behind her now. "Did her story fool you? Poor Breda, locked up in my house to wander around for the rest of her life, looking for the exit. She had you fooled, didn't she?" Wilhelm walked further into the room. Her guards started to follow her, but she held up a hand to instruct them to be still. "Solomon," she said, firmly. Obediently, Solomon got up off the bed and ran to his mother, hiding himself behind her legs. She put a hand on top of his head. "I think I am done having my fun. And you people really are very entertaining. I should let strangers into my home more often." 

She laughed then, that hard sound that made Ban clench his hand into a fist. He noticed Ginji was doing the same thing, crackles of electricity surrounding his fists, and shook his head. Ginji looked over at him, surprised, then nodded.

"Now, if you would kindly follow me, we can bring this game to the final stage," she told them, turning to leave the room with Solomon in tow. The others had no choice but to follow her, Breda still pointing her knife at Emishi's neck.

As they marched across the hall from the room to an exposed flight of stairs, however, they didn't notice the two figures on either side of the hall. Kokuhaku observed silently from his place to the left, his broken arm now in a sling. Kokubyaku observed from the right. As soon as the others disappeared down the stairs and the door was closed behind them, Kokuhaku gave his brother a curt nod. Both twins then darted for the door...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wilhelm sat down at her desk. The first thing she did (and she took her sweet old time about it) was light another cigar. Then she pulled a sheaf of yellowed papers from her desk drawer and threw them onto her desk. "There it is. That is what you were looking for. Take it if you think you can."

Solomon was standing in front of the crows' perches, looking at his feet. Breda took her knife away from Emishi's neck and walked over to the piano, leaning on it. Ban turned to glare at her, then he looked down at Solomon. He didn't want to try anything too violent in front of him in case he got hurt in the fray. Shido whistled, and three of the crows flew off their perches, taking the manuscript into their talons and delivering it to him.

"Impressive," Wilhelm said, chewing on her cigar. "Now how do you suppose you're going to get out?" She gestured to the guards in front of the door. No one turned to look, instead glaring at her.

"I occupied them for you and lead them astray," Breda piped up. "I have done my job. Where is my payment?"

Wilhelm pretended to think as she reached into her drawer. "Yes, I'd really hoped we could discuss that in private, but since you insist..." She closed the drawer, concealing what she had pulled out. "You killed Naoya. That was certainly not part of our deal."

"He was being annoying," Breda argued. Clayman shifted uncomfortably.

Wilhelm nodded. "Yes, I have no doubt he was. That's the way he is. However, do you know how hard it is to find a medium? Or how hard it is to find one that will work for you exclusively? I needed him, dammit." Wilhelm stood and held up a gun, switching off the safety. "Here is your payment!"

No one had time to react. There wasn't even a split second between the sound of the gunshot and when Breda crumpled to the floor, eyes fixed in a blank stare, blood coming out of her mouth.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Hevn cried, before cowering under the gun that was pointed at her.

"She was annoying me," Wilhelm said simply. She switched the safety back on her gun and put it on her desk. Ban clenched his fists. Just a little longer...

"What did happen to your husbands, Wilhelm?" he asked, in Japanese so everyone else present would understand.

The smile that settled on Wilhelm's features was most unsettling. "You know, I have been waiting for you to ask all night. Usually by the time I mention my second husband people are getting curious. If someone could-"

Without her having to finish, a guard switched off the light. As the room descended into darkness, magenta light radiated from the floor, causing everyone to look down. When they did, most of them gasped and either jumped back and stepped back. Kadsuki lead Jubei away as he stepped back.

The floor was clear, and in four evenly spaced and lit up chambers were the frozen bodies of four men. Wilhelm stood up and walked over to the bodies. The first one was an older man with a beard and glasses, wearing an expensive and old fashioned blue suit. "Daniel Ostheim. Wealthy man. Old money, no pun intended. I married him on my parents' request. We were together for about four years. Then he tragically died of a heart attack. How sad. Especially since no one had bothered to look in his wealthy young widow's pantry for the poison." She laughed then, like she'd just heard some hilarious joke, and stepped over to the next body. This man had to be in his forties. He had short, wavy red hair and was wearing a green business suit. "Jan Hayman, world famous ethnologist and professor at Universität Kaiserslautern. He broke his neck while on a bird-watching expedition with his wife of two years. He never even saw that ditch until his wife had pushed him in." She was still laughing as she approached a handsome man in either his late twenties or early thirties. He was wearing a black shirt and black jeans that matched his dark hair. She suddenly stopped laughing and scowled down at the body. "Leon Vibbard. It was kill or be killed. He was Solomon's father." She walked over to the last coffin. In it was a man wearing a black tuxedo. He was clearly the youngest of the four men, when a somewhat boyish face loose shoulder-length dark brown hair. "And my last husband, Niklas Blauvelt. My beloved Nicki. I married him for love, but when he inherited this house I had to make the most difficult decision of my life: Nicki or this house." Wilhelm released an exaggerated sigh. "Poor Nicki committed suicide when he caught his wife having an affair with a man named Amaya Hajime. At least, that's what the police report said." She started to laugh hysterically again.

Really, no one was surprised. They'd all suspected her of having a hand in the conspicuous absence of her husbands when she'd first mentioned them. But they'd never thought they would end up meeting the men that had once called Wilhelm their wife. Still laughing, Wilhelm snapped her fingers as she walked over to her desk. A guard obediently switched the light on, and the bodies disappeared.

"The real trick was sneaking the bodies away after the funerals," Wilhelm continued. "I am usually not an advocate for grave robbery, but I had to make an exception. My husbands were far too dear to me." She took a drag off of her cigar. "It was also something getting them from Germany to Japan, but enough money and power can render even the most strict border inspectors blind. After that it's a matter of finding the right transportation and transporters. And that was the easy part." She was looking at Akabane as she said it; though it was unlikely he'd had a hand in transporting the bodies. He was just an example of what she was talking about. She laughed hysterically again. Ban noticed Solomon was standing stock-still next to her desk, holding back tears in his eyes.

"What do you want with us, Wilhelm?" Ban asked. He hated her as much as he hated Amaya Hajime now. She was a horrible woman and her innocent son had to pay the price for it. Had he ever watched her kill any of her husbands? For his sake, Ban hoped not. Although he had just watched his mother kill his nanny, so he wasn't entirely ignorant to death.

Wilhelm examined her cigar. "What do I want?" she asked softly. "I want to win. I will let you all go if you will leave the manuscript. If you don't....I..." Wilhelm fell silent as the lights in the room switched off, illuminating the bodies of her husbands. "Morons! I didn't tell you to turn off the lights!" No one answered. "What the hell?" she whispered, in German.

The lights in the coffins began to flicker as the glass above them began to crack. Wilhelm widened her eyes and sat up. "What the hell is going on here?!" she howled, looking at the others. Except they were all gone. Everyone was gone except for her crows, who all began to squawk. Wilhelm looked back at the door of her office as it slammed shut. "Whoever is responsible for this will die!" she shouted threateningly. The coffins suddenly shattered in an explosion of glass, which scattered around the room. They crows scattered off their perches, brushing Wilhelm as they flew around and making her scream. Then they all settled onto the shoulders of the four figures standing in the flickering violet light. The four figures began to step toward her, slowly. One of them had dimly glowing gasflame blue eyes...

And then the scene disappeared, just as suddenly as it began. Wilhelm was in her office. The lights were on. Her floor was still whole. And her guards were standing at attention at the end of the room. The empty room. The retrieval specialists, the crows, and Solomon were all gone. Only Breda's body remained. And a note on the desk:

Hatten Sie einen netten Traum?  
-GB

Wilhelm growled angrily and tore the note to pieces. "After them, you damn fools! Go after them!" As her guards scrambled to obey her orders, Wilhelm reached into her desk and pulled out her gun, walking toward the entrance herself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Leave it to Wilhelm to let her paranoia override her common sense," Ban noted smugly as they wandered through the halls, manuscript in hand. Ban had already announced if he had to he'd kick walls in to find a way out, and that suited everyone else just fine.

"How did you know the guards didn't have minds of their own?" Ginji asked, amazed that Ban had figured this out.

Ban shrugged. "There were a lot of signs. The fact that they just stand there when Wilhelm doesn't give them an order, the fact that none of them speak, and that fact that I was going to use my jagan on them before I realized they had no minds for me to mess with. It makes sense, though: they're a lot stronger than Wilhelm. She had to make sure they wouldn't get pissed at her and overthrow her."

"Stop where you are!" a voice howled, followed by the click of a gun being cocked. Everyone turned around to see Wilhelm standing in the hallway, gun poised and aimed directly at Ban, eyes wide and frightened looking. It was an expression that no one had ever expected to see on her. It was also rather unbecoming. The gun was shaking violently in her grasp.

"You're a monster!" she accused. "You're just like he was! An evil monster! He infected my son and he only wanted to torment people! You knew him, didn't you?! That's why you have come to take Solomon, not my manuscript!" She pointed the gun at Ginji next. "You're all in this!" She moved it over to point it at Clayman. "Aren't you?!" She started laughing then, but it was hysterical, more disturbing (if that were at all possible) than her normal laugh. "The joke is on all of you! Monsters like him are not immortal! If a bullet in the brain could kill Leon, then it will kill him!"

The sound of a gun being fired echoed through the hall. Everyone froze for a moment. For a split second they couldn't figure out who had been shot. Suddenly, Wilhelm fell over onto the carpet of the hall, face-first. Her position on the floor kept her from bleeding, but she had clearly been shot in the back of the head. Everyone then followed the path of the bullet to the one holding the gun.

Pocketing it and brushing off his suit, Karl Hamrich (or, rather, Jakob Grimm) looked out over the group, his sunglasses clipped onto his regular ones. "You talk too much, Wilhelm," he said simply, brushing past the guards and stepping over her body. Clearing his throat, he looked up at Ban, who was still in shock. "Well, if you will give me the manuscript our business transaction will be complete."

Ban hesitated a moment. It was true that Jakob was less despicable than Wilhelm, and he had still pulled some pretty nasty tricks. But he was also still technically their customer. They could give him the manuscript, take the money, and maybe salvage this entire horribly botched job. Sighing, Ban gave the thick sheaf of yellowed papers to him.

"Danke," Jakob said with a nod. "Now one more thing..." He aimed his gun at Hevn and cocked the hammer. She gasped and backed up a step instinctively. "I don't like being made the fool, Ms. Hevn. Your greed shall be your downfall."

Before he could pull the trigger his body jerked up stiffly. Blood began to leak out of his mouth as he slumped forward. Kadsuki, Ban, and Ginji all stepped back to keep him from falling on top of them. His suit jacket was ripped open, and on his back was a bloody "J". Everyone looked from his body to Akabane's, who was now standing above Wilhelm's body.

"I had no more personal stake in this mission," he explained calmly. "My employer is dead at his hands and I have been denied any enjoyment for this entire job. Now the job is over."

The guards were still standing around blankly. They probably would be for the rest of their unnatural lives without Wilhelm to command them to do otherwise. Ban wanted to yell at Akabane for killing their employer, but their employer had been just about to kill their negotiator and obviously had no intentions of paying. Ban looked down at Solomon, who was now hiding behind his legs.

"Let's just get the hell out of here," he announced, turning around and walking through the group to walk in the opposite direction of the dead Grimms. Solomon also squeezed through in his desperation to follow him and not be forced to see what had taken place. Everyone else sighed and followed suit.

As they passed into another corridor Ban sighed in annoyance. Standing in their path were the Tanshoku twins. Side by side. They usually angry looking one, Kokuhaku, was now wearing a smug smile while the sad one, Kokubyaku, had a kind of distant smirk. They just stood there for a moment, looking at the group. And the group watched back, ready to attack them at any moment.

Suddenly they looked at each other and nodded simultaneously. Then they turned and walked away, Kokuhaku gesturing with his head to follow them.

"Should we really trust them?" Emishi asked as Ban hesitantly began to lead the group after them.

Clayman answered the question, suddenly looking and sounding very worn out. "They worked for Wilhelm Grimm. She is now dead. They have no reason to object to helping us. From the looks of it they weren't very fond of being employed by her."

And that was all that was said as the twins lead the group out into the hot dawn air.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Well, that was a royal disaster," Hevn announced from her place in the back seat of the Bug. Kadsuki and Jubei had announced they were taking a bus home, trusting public transportation more than they trusted the little car. Solomon was also curled up in the back seat, fast asleep.

Ban sighed and threw his cigarette out of the open window. "That is an understatement," he muttered. He wanted to add that it was Hevn's fault, but she was already suffering enough from the mission.

"Ban-chan, what are we going to do about him?" Ginji asked, gesturing with his thumb to Solomon.

Ban shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment, all that his position as driver would allow. "I have an idea. I just hope it'll work."

That said, he pulled into the parking lot of a familiar square-shaped building. A sign on the door read "closed". Hevn and Ginji both looked surprised as Ban parked in the empty parking lot and opened the door. He climbed out, Hevn and Ginji following suit as Ban put a hand on Solomon's shoulder and shook him awake, speaking softly in German. The boy looked up at him with bleary eyes and stood up, climbing out.

No one asked any questions as Ban walked over to the entrance of the hotel and knocked loudly, making sure he didn't knock hard enough to break the window. It took a moment for Kusakiko to answer the door.

"M-Midou-san! Amano-san! Hevn-san!" Kusakiko said, surprised. "We didn't expect you!"

Ban swallowed. "I need to talk to you."

Kusakiko nodded. "Come right in."

As the group walked into the dining room, Kaneko suddenly bounded out of the kitchen and jumped onto Ginji. "GINJI-KUN!" she cried out, hugging him tightly.

"Ah...easy, Kaneko-chan," Ginji instructed, his voice sounding strained. Ban smiled at the scene, then turned back to Kusakiko. The rest of the sisters began emerging from other doors. They all looked very worn out, and for the first time Ban noticed that it looked like Kusakiko had been crying.

"Did we come at a bad time?" Ban asked, as if he had been able to call ahead or reschedule this particular visit.

Kusakiko nodded. "Just after you left Amaya-san died. We've been up all night getting things ready for his funeral. Kuroko says if we don't give him a proper funeral he will become like her."

Ban snorted. His original plan was to encourage the sisters to leave the hotel and Amaya, but that was better. He wasn't even going to pretend to mourn that horrible man. "Actually, that's probably for the better," he said out loud. Kusakiko didn't argue or ask him to clarify what he meant by that. This was good, because Ban meant it in several ways. "I have a favor to ask of you guys, actually, and it's very important that he be out of the picture to do it."

Kozeniko leaned in the exit to the courtyard she had just come in through, a door marked "Employees Only". "So you guys expected to come in here and ask us to do something for you that required us to leave our home and our boss? You must have been pretty damn sure we would accept."

Ban pointed simply at Solomon, and all of the sisters (Kaneko included, although she was still attached to Ginji) turned to look at him. "Last night when we went to finish our job we ran into some...unpleasantness. A lot of it. Now this boy doesn't have any parents or a home."

"Then you take him," Kozeniko huffed, but the other sisters glared at her. She sighed. "All right. Keep going."

Ban shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Amaya messed with him when he was younger. That's why it's important he not be involved in this. He needs someone to take him. He has a power similar to mine, the Evil Eye. He doesn't know how to control it. Since you all have powers and abilities I thought you would be the most likely to accept him."

At the same time Kozeniko said "are you crazy?" Kusakiko said "I'd love to." Kozeniko glared at her sister, who was now staring at the surface of the table at her folded hands.

"What did you say?" Kozeniko asked in disbelief.

Kusakiko drew in a deep breath. "Kozeniko, we left home because no one would accept me and my powers. All my life I had only you to rely on because you understood me. Now I feel like this boy needs that same kind of understanding, and only we can give it."

Kozeniko shook her head. "We can't take care of a kid. We just can't. Absolutely not."

"Why not?" was the only argument she received.

"Because...because we..." Kozeniko looked down at Solomon. She sighed deeply. "Fine. All right. But you're taking care of him. If you have a sudden urge to play mommy then you're on your own." And with that, she turned and left the dining room.

Ban smiled. "He doesn't speak Japanese yet. Only German. But he's young and he's smart. He'll pick up Japanese fast." Then he kneeled down in front of Solomon and began to speak to him in German. The boy's eyes widened. Then he turned and looked at Kusakiko, who smiled warmly at him. The boy nodded once, and Ban stood up.

"Well, now we've got that settled," he said simply. He turned and left the room, and Ginji noticed he pointedly didn't look back.

"Thank you so much," Ginji said to Kusakiko. Then he looked down at Kaneko. "I'll see you soon, Kaneko-chan."

"See you soon, Ginji-kun!" Kaneko said brightly. Hevn then followed Ginji out of the hotel.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was night again. The lights of Tokyo were shining in the distance. Hevn was asleep, but Ginji was just staring vacantly out the window. Ban didn't even bother trying to guess what was going through his mind right now. This job had been physically and emotionally taxing for all involved, and to not even get paid for it in the end was like adding insult to injury.

"Ban-chan?" Ginji asked suddenly.

"Yeah?" Ban asked, lighting a cigarette.

"I know you didn't really forget what you were going to say when we were on the side of the road," he said softly. "What were you going to say?"

Ban gripped the steering wheel hard, almost hard enough to break it. "I was just going to say that the time I've spent working with you are the best in my life, and that there was no one else I'd rather die of thirst and heat exhaustion on the side of a dirt road with."

"Oh," was the only thing said for a long time. Then Ginji said "Same for me."

The End

Goo's Notes- Yes, it is finally over! And I wasn't going to put in what Ban was going to say to Ginji but too many people asked. I left it purposely ambiguous. If anything is confusing, remember that there are two more fics to go. And so concludes the longest Get Backers fic yet! Thank you all for reading and supporting me! I now leave you with a preview of the next fic, "Hand of God":

*Cue Goo's Stupidity*

Ginji: Ban-chan, that boy knows Natsumi. We should help him.

Ban: Well, he looks like he has enough money..

Ginji: But can we find his beads in time? He's already looking so sick...

Ban: Of course we will! We're the Get Backers, success rate nearly 100%

Next Chapter of Get Backers: "The Hand of God". Look forward to it!

Any similarity between anyone living or dead is purely coincidental unless other wise noted.


	10. Epilogue

Goo's Note- These are actually a couple of details merged together that I meant to put at the end of the fic to lead into the Committee. I sincerely forgot about them in my rush to finish the fic and I regretted it, but rather than go back and rewrite the chapter I decided to add to it. Hope this works...

**Wilhelm's Manuscript- Epilogue**

**By A Girl Named Goo**

"Ban-chan..."

"Shh! Be quiet, I am trying to conduct business here!" Ban snapped. He turned his attention back to the phone, speaking fluently in German. "Yes, this is truly the missing manuscript of Wilhelm Grimm. One of a kind. I am sure you were all missing it very much."

"Actually, we weren't looking for it at all," the man on the other line explained. "When we found it we thought it was a great find, but testing showed the paper to be too new. About twenty years old at the most."

Ban paled. "There must be some mistake! Who else would leave a manuscript like this under the floorboards of the Grimms' home?"

"I am not sure. We were going to just discard it when someone who read an article about the possibility of it being real called to make a bid on it. When we explained it was a fraud she still didn't care. You may want to try selling it to her. Her name is Katrin Blauvelt. She lives in Japan and I heard she recently encountered problems during it's transport there. She may reward you for returning it."

"Ban-chan..." Ginji tried again, tugging on the tails of Ban's shirt.

"Was ist es?!" Ban growled, clearing his throat and repeating himself in Japanese. "What do you want, Ginji?"

"Clayman-san..." Ginji said, gesturing toward Clayman. She was sitting at the counter near Hevn, the former looking over the apparently useless manuscript, the latter looking over what appeared to be newspaper clippings.

Ban raised his eyebrows for a moment, then turned his attention back to the phone. "Can't you give us something for it? It should be publishable if you thought it was real! Come on, just ten thousand?"

"Yen?" the man from the German Historical Society asked.

"Euro," Ban corrected.

"That is outrageous, sir. I am sure it's interesting for what it is: someone's collection of takes on the Grimms' stories, but the fact remains it is not the real manuscript of Wilhelm Grimm. You can see if the Grimm Museum will make you an offer, but I am afraid we cannot help you."

"We already tried them! They didn't want it either! They told us to try you guys! Fine, 10,000 yen. Anything. Just take this!"

"I am sorry, sir. I cannot justify such an expenditure. Good day." And with that he hung up.

Ban groaned, switching off his phone and putting his head on the counter. Clayman looked over and him, pulling the top pages back over the sheaf of papers. "Having no luck selling it, Midou-san?" she asked, sounding unusually sympathetic to their cause. Although not the kind of person who was entertained by the misfortune of others, she rarely took an interest in their money troubles.

"Wilhelm bought it fair and square," Ban muttered. "If we'd just taken it from Jakob and given it to her we'd have gotten paid and been spared all that trouble..." He suddenly glared at Hevn. "I blame you for all this!"

"What?!" Hevn cried indignantly. "I didn't know any of that! A job was a job-"

Ban was suddenly in her face. "If you'd only checked with the German Historical Society-"

"And it would have been only a transport job. I'd have only called the transporters instead of-"

"Himiko-chan?" Ginji asked. Ban and Hevn both stopped in their arguing and turned to check the door. No one new had entered the café, however. They both then followed Ginji's gaze. In a slightly-yellowed newspaper clipping, above a short passage written entirely in German, was a picture of two people. One was an older man in an expensive and old fashioned suit, bald and donning glasses and sporting a neatly-trimmed beard. He had his arm around a girl young enough to be his daughter, a girl with neatly cropped dark and and cold, lonely eyes who looked distinctly familiar. She was wearing a neat button-up blouse that had probably been white (although the picture made it hard to tell), and a neatly pleated black skirt.

Ban picked up the clipping, looking long and hard at the picture before averting his gaze to the text below. "It's an engagement announcement," Ban explained. He then translated the text out loud. "'Daniel Ostheim, heir to the Ostheim Real Estate Fortune and once confirmed bachelor, is pleased to announce his engagement to seventeen year old Katrin Grimm. Miss Grimm is the descendent of Wilhelm Karl Grimm, one of the famous Brothers Grimm. They will be wed on Wednesday, June...' This is nearly twenty years old. Himiko wouldn't even have been born."

"Katrin Grimm...isn't that-" Ginji started.

"Yeah, it is," Ban confirmed, putting the clipping down. He looked down to notice more clippings with the same girl and in various stages of womanhood. In the earliest ones the girl was smiling, but as she aged that cold look intensified until finally she donned a cunning smile. "Hevn-"

"I just got these when we got back. I requested everything on both Karl Hamrich and Katrin Blauvelt before I left. I found nothing on Jakob, but Katrin Blauvelt was traced back through all four of her marriages to her maiden name," Hevn said sadly. She looked at the engagement announcement again. "The resemblance is scary. No wonder she was so interested in Himiko-san..."

Clayman smiled sadly and lowered her tea. "You should have consulted me sooner. I've heard things about her from the Underground," she explained. All three (plus Paul) turned to look at the woman, who sighed and leaned on the manuscript. "I was there to get a painting from Masaharu. I didn't care about the manuscript until I got caught up in your retrieval. However, Katrin Grimm was quite famous before she became Wilhelm. She was an accomplished pianist and a writer, and as these earlier clippings show she was happy for it. But in spite of her famous bloodline her family had no money. When she was seventeen they agreed to marry her to Daniel Ostheim, not knowing he was a crime lord. The marriage slowly drained all the happiness from her until she finally killed the husband she hated so much...and inherited his criminal ties. It was then that the Wilhelm we met was born."

"So then the mansucript was written by..." Ban left the sentance unfinished.

Clayman nodded, taking another drink of her tea. "It wasn't written directly by Wilhelm Karl Grimm. It was written by his descendant and I have reason to believe his reincarnation, 'Wilhelm' Katrin Grimm. She hid the manuscript before her marriage because she believed she would have to give up everything she loved. By buying back the manuscript she probably hoped to reconnect to her old life, before she was the monster we met."

They all took a moment to reflect on this information. Hevn then turned to look at Clayman again. "What are you doing here, Clayman-san?"

Clayman smiled mysteriously. "I wanted to see if you sold that manuscript yet."

"You'll by it from us?!" Ban cried, stars in his eyes at the prospect of actually making a profit after that hellacious job.

"No," Clayman said. Ban promptly deflated. Ginji looked down at him with surprised eyes. "I collect art, not literature. I am not budgeted for anything else. Otherwise I would be happy to take it from you. It's a fascinating piece, surely. I _will_ ask around for people who may be interested, though."

Ginji stopped poking Ban's liquified body. "But Clayman-san, you said that manuscript was special like your paintings are. It's the same thing, just a different kind of art. Couldn't you please buy it?"

"Well..." She looked down at the sheaf of papers, looking tempted.

"Please?" Ginji asked, looking at her with his puppy dog eyes.

"I really shouldn't. It's not in budget..."

"Please?" Ban asked, suddenly appearing next to Ginji and attempting to mimic his puppy dog eyes without the same degree of success.

Clayman sighed, pulling what appeared to be a checkbook from her pocket. "I hate to see you resort to begging, Midou-san," she sighed. She scribbled out a check and offered it to them. "Here. 100,000. It's all I can spare right now."

"Thank you Clayman-san!" Ginji cried, reaching for the check. It was suddenly snatched from their grasp.

"This should help toward your tab," Paul said, smiling around his trademark cigarette.

The retrieval agents both sank to the floor, a physical manifestation of their sinking spirits.

"Ban-chan..."

"Yeah, Ginji?"

"Did we just not get paid again?"

"Yeah."

**The ****_Real_**** End**


End file.
